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NOV  2  9  1954 

MAY      8  1961 

APRS     1P\ 


THE    ELEM 


^V^, 


ENERAL  Method 


BASED  ON  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  HERBART. 


Charles  A.  McMl'RRV.  Ph.D. 


SECOND    EDITION. 

I'll!I,I<-SC  IIOOI.     ITHIJ^n^lW    CO..     IMlll.ISIIKIiS. 
HI.(>(),\l\P^N,     n.I.INHls. 


VSTs'.ts. 

V 


Copyright,  1893. 
By  C.  a.  McMuRnv,  Normal,  Ii.i. 


Press  of 
J'aiifograph  Printing  end  UtaHoneri/  Co. 
Bloomington,  Illinois. 


U3 
PREFACE. 


THE  Herbart  School  of  Pedagogy  has  created  much 
stir  in  Germany  in  the  last  thirty  years.  It  has 
developed  a  large  number  of  vigorous  writers  on 
all  phases  of  education  and  psychology,  and  numbers  a 
thousand  or  more  positive  disciples  among  the  energetic 
teachers  of  Germany. 

Those  American  teachers  and  students  who  have  come 
In  contact  with  the  ideas  of  this  school  have  been  greatly 
stimulated. 

In  such  a  miscellaneous  and  many-sided  thing  as  prac- 
tical education,  it  is  deeply  gratifying  to  find  a  clear  and 
definite  leading  purpose  that  prevails  throughout  and  a 
set  of  mutually  related  and  supporting  principles  which 
in  practice  contribute  to  the  realization  of  this  purpose. 

The  following  chapters  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  full, 
exact,  and  painfully  scientific  account  of  Herbartian 
ideas,  but  as  a  simple  explanation  of  their  leading  prin- 
ciples in  their  relations  to  each  other  and  in  their  appli- 
cation to  our  own  school  problems. 

In  the  second  edition  the  last  chapter  of  the  first  edi- 
tion has  been  omitted,  while  the  other  chapters  have  been 
much  modified  and  enlarged.  The  chapter  on  the  Formal 
Steps  is  reserved  for  enlargement  and  publication  in  a 
separate  form. 

Normal,  III.,  November  4,  1893. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  1. 
Tlio  T'liii^f  Aim  of  Education  .  .'  .  5-14 

CHAPTER  li. 
Ivolativo  Valuo  of  Studies  ....       15-60 

CHAPTER   111. 
jN'aUirc  of   Interest  .....        61-S5 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Concentration  .....  86-127 

CHAPTER  V. 
Induct  ion  ......        128-156 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Aplierception  .....  1.57-184 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Tlie  Will  ......  185-193 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
lleibait  and  His  Disciples  .  194-200 

Ifooks  of  Reference      -  .  .  .  .         200-201 


CHAPTER  1. 


THE   CHIEF    Al.W   OF   EDUCATION. 

What  is  the  central  pm-pose  of  education?  If  we 
include  under  this  term  all  the  things  commonly  assigned 
to  it,  its  many  phases  as  represented  by  the  great  variety 
of  teachers  and  pupils,  the  many  branches  of  knowledge 
and  the  various  and  even  conflicting  methods  in  bringing 
up  children,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  definition  sufficiently 
broad  and  definite  to  compass  its  meaning.  In  fact  we 
shall  not  attempt  in  the  beginning  to  make  a  definition. 
We  are  in  search  not  so  much  of  a  comprehensive  defini- 
tion as  of  a  central  truth,  a  key  to  the  situation,  an  aim 
that  will  simplify  and  brighten  all  the  work  of  teachers. 
Keeping  in  view  the  end  from  the  beginning,  we  need  a 
central  organizing  principle  which  shall  dictate  for  teacher 
and  pupil  the  highway  over  which  they  shall  travel  to- 
gether. 

,  We  will  assume  at  least  that  education  mean.^  the 
whole  bringing  up  of  a  child  from  infancy  to  matuiity, 
not  simply  his  school  training.  The  reason  for  thi.s 
assumption  is  thathome,  school, companions,  environment, 
and  natural  endowment,  working  through  a  series  if 
years,  produce  a  character  which  is  a  unit  as  the  result- 
ant of  these  different  influences  and  growths.  Again,  we 
are  compelled  to  assume  that  this  aim,  whatever  it  is,  is 
the  same  for  all. 


o  GENERAL  METHOD. 

Now  what  will  the  average  man,  picked  up  at  random, 
say  to  our  question:  What  is  the  chief  end  in  the  edu- 
cation of  your  son?  A  farmer  wishes  his  boy  to  read, 
write,  and  cipher,  so  as  to  meet  successfully  the  needs  of 
a  farmer's  life.  The  merchant  desires  that  his  boy  get 
a  wider  reach  of  knowledge  and  experience  so  as  to  sue" 
ceed  in  a  livelier  sort  of  business  competition.  A  uni- 
versity professor  would  lay  out  a  liberal  course  of  train* 
ing  for  his  son  so  as  to  prepare  him  for  intellectual  pur- 
suits among  scholars  and  people  of  culture.  This  utili- 
tarian view,  which  points  to  success  in  life  in  the  ordinary 
sense,  is  the  prevailing  one.  We  could  probably  sum  up 
the  wishes  of  a  great  majority  of  the  common  people  by 
saying,  "They  desire  to  give  their  children,  through 
education,  a  better  chance  in  life  than  they  themselves 
have  had."  Yet  even  these  people,  if  pressed  to  give 
reasons,  would  admit  that  the  purely  utilitarian  view  is 
a  low  one  aud  that  there  is  something  better  for  every 
boy  and  girl  than  the  mere  ability  to  make  a  successful 
living. 

Turn  for  a  moment  to  the  great  si/ste)7is  of  education 
which  have  held  their  own  for  centuries  and  examine 
their  aims.  The  Jesuits,  the  Humanists,  and  the  Natural 
Scientists  all  claimed  to  be  liberal,  culture-giving, 
and  pi'eparatory  to  great  things;  yet  we  only  need  to 
quote  from  the  histories  of  education  to  show  their  nar- 
rowness and  incompleteness.  The  training  of  the  Jesuits 
was  linguistic  and  rhetorical,  and  almost  entirely  apart 
from  our  present  notion  of  human  development.  The 
Humanists  or  Classicists  who  for  so  many  centuries  con- 
stituted the  educational  elite,  belonged  to  the  past  with 
its  glories  rather  than  to  the  age  in  which  they  really 
lived.     Though  standing    in    a    modern    age,  they    were 


THE   CHIEF   AIM.  7 

almost  blind  to  the  great  problems  and  opportunities  it 
offered.  They  stood  in  bold  contrast  to  the  growth  of 
the  modern  spirit  in  history,  literature,  and  natural  sci- 
ence. But  in  spite  of  their  predominating  influence  over 
education  for  centuries,  there  has  never  been  the  shadow 
of  a  chance  for  making  the  classics  of  antiquity  the 
basis  of  common,  popular  education.  The  modern  school 
of  Natural  Scientists  is  just  as  one-sided  as  the  Human- 
ists in  supposing  that  human  nature  is  narrow  enough  to 
be  compressed  within  the  bounds  of  natural  science 
studies,  however  broad  their  field  may  be. 

But  the  systems  of  education  in  vogue  have  always 
lagged  behind  the  clear  views  of  educational  reformers. 
Two  hundred  fifty  years  ago  Comenius  projected  a  plan 
of  education  for  every  boy  and  girl  of  the  common  peo- 
ple. His  aim  was  to  teach  all  men  all  things  from  the 
highest  truths  of  religion  to  the  commonest  things  of 
daily  experience.  Being  a  man  of  simple  and  profound 
religious  faith,  religion  and  morality  were  at  the 
foundation  of  his  system.  But  even  the  principles 
of  intellectual  training  so  clearly  advocated  by  Comen- 
ius have  not  yet  found  a  ready  hearing  among  teach- 
teachers,  to  say  nothing  of  his  great  moral-religious  pur- 
pose. Among  later  writers,  Locke,  Rousseau,  and  Pesta- 
lozzi  have  set  up  ideals  of  education  that  have  had  much 
influence.  But  Locke's  "  gentleman  '  can  never  be  the 
ideal  of  all  because  it  is  intrinsically  aristocratic  and 
education  has  become  with  us  broadly  democratic.  After 
all,  Locke's  "  gentleman"  is  a  noble  ideal  and  should 
powerfully  impress  teachers.  The  perfect  human  animal 
that  Rousseau  dreamed  of  in  the  Emile,  is  best  illustrated 
in  the  noble  savage,  but  we  are  not  in  danger  in  America 


8  GENERAL  MKTlioi). 

of  adopting  this  ideal.  In  spite  of  lii.s  merits  the  noblest 
savage  falls  short  in  several  ways.  Yet  it  is  innportant  in 
education  to  perfect  the  physical  powers  and  the  animal 
development  in  every  child.  Pestalozzi  touched  the 
hearts  of  even  the  weakest  and  morally  frailest  children, 
and  tried  to  make  ini]>roved  physical  conditions  and  intel- 
lectual culture  contribute  to  heart  cultui'e,  or  rather  to 
combine  the  two  in  strong  moral  character.  He  came 
close  upon  the  highest  aim  of  education  and  was  able  to 
illustrate  his  doctrine  in  practice.  The  educational 
reformers  have  gone  far  ahead  of  the  schoolmasters  in 
setting  up  a  high  aim  in  education. 

Let  us  examine  a  few  well-known  definitions  of  edu- 
cation by  great  thinkers,  and  try  to  discover  a  central 
idea. 

"  The  purpose  of  education  is  to  give  to  the  body  and 
to  the  soul  all  the  beautv  and  all  the  perfection  of  which 
they  are  capable." — Plato. 

"Education  includes  w^hatever  we  do  for  ourselves 
and  whatever  is  done  for  us  by  others  for  the  express 
purpose  of  bringing  us  nearer  to  the  perfection  of  our 
nature." — Jo/i/i  >Stuart  Mill. 

''Education  is  the  preparation  for  complete  living." — 
Herbert  Spencer. 

"Education  is  the  harmonious  and  equable  evolution 
of  the  human  faculties  by  a  method  based  upon  the 
nature  of  the  mind  for  developing  all  the  faculties  of  the 
soul,  for  stirring  up  and  nourishing  all  the  principles  of 
life,  while  shunning  all  one-sided  culture  and  taking 
account  of  the  sentiments  upon  which  the  strength  and 
worth  of  men  depend." — Stein. 

■'Education  is  the  sum  of  the  reflective  efforts  by 
which  we  aid  nature  in  the  development  of  the  physical, 


THE  CHIEF    AIM.  9 

intellectual,  and  moral  faculties  of  man  in  view  of  his  per- 
fection, his  happiness,  and  his  social  destination." — toin- 
payre. 

These  attempts  to  bring  the  task  of  education  into 
a  comprehensive,  scientific  formula  are  interesting  and 
yet  disappointing.  They  agree  in  giving  great  breadth 
to  education.  But  in  the  attempt  to  be  comprehensive, 
to  omit  nothing,  they  fail  to  specify  that  wherein  the 
true  icorth  of  man  consists;  they  fail  to  bring  out  into 
relief  the  highest  aim  as  an  organizing  idea  in  the  compli- 
cated work  of  education  and  its  relation  to  secondary 
aims. 

We  desire  therefore  to  approach  nearer  to  this  prob- 
lem:     What  is  the  highest  aim  of  education? 

We  will  do  so  by  an  inquiry  into  the  aims  and  tenden- 
cies of  our  public  schools.  To  an  outward  observer  the 
schools  of  today  confine  their  attention  almost  exclu- 
sively to  the  acquisition  of  certain  forms  of  knowledge 
and  to  intellectual  training,  to  the  mental  discipline  and 
power  that  come  from  a  varied  and  vigorous  exercise  of 
the  faculties.  The  great  majority  of  good  schoolmasters 
stand  squarely  upon  this  platform,  knowledge  and  mental 
discipline.  But  they  are  none  the  less  deeply  conscious  that 
this  is  not  the  highest  aim  of  education.  We  scarcely  need 
to  be  told  that  a  person  may  be  fully  equipped  with  the  best 
that  this  style  of  education  can  give,  and  still  remain  a 
criminal.  A  good  and  wise  parent  will  inevitably  seek 
for  a  better  result  in  his  child  than  mere  knowledge,  in- 
tellectual ability,  and  power.  All  good  schoolmasters 
know  that  behind  school  studies  and  cares  is  the  still 
greater  task  of  developing  manly  and  womanly  character. 
Perhaps,  however,  this  is  too  high  and  sacred  a  thing  to 
formulate.   Perhaps  in  the  attempt  to  reduce  it  to  a  scien- 


10  GENERAL  METHOD. 

tific  form  we  should  lose  its  spirit.  Admitting  that 
strong  moral  character  is  the  noblest  result  of  right 
training,  is  it  not  still  incidental  to  the  regular  school 
work?  Perhaps  it  lies  in  the  teacher  and  in  his  manner 
of  teaching  subjects,  and  not  in  the  subject-matter  itself 
nor  in  any  course  of  study. 

This  is  exactly  the  point  at  which  we  wish  to  apply 
the  lever  and  to  lift  into  prominence  the  tnoral  character- 
buildinfj  aim  as  the  central,  one  in  education.  This  aim 
should  be  like  a  loadstone,  attracting  and  subordinating- 
all  other  purposes  to  itself.  It  should  dominate  in  the 
choice,  arrangement,  and  method  of  studies. 

Let  us  examine  more  carefully  the  convictions  upon 
which  the  moral  aim  rests.  Every  wise  and  benevolent 
parent  knows  that  the  first  and  last  question  to  ask  and 
answer  regarding  a  child  is  "What  are  his  moral  quality 
and  strength?"  ISTow,  who  is  better  able  to  judge  of  the 
true  aim  than  thoughtful  and  so\\c\io\xs  parents?  In  the 
second  place,  it  is  inconceivable  that  a  conscientious 
teacher  should  close  his  eyes  to  all  except  the  intellectual 
training  of  his  pupils.  It  is  as  natural  for  him  to  touch 
and  awaken  the  moral  qualities  as  it  is  for  birds  to  sing 
Again,  the  state  is  more  concerned  to  see  the  growth  q\ 
just  and  virtuous  citizens  than  in  seeing  the  prosperity? 
of  scholars,  inventors,  and  merchants.  It  is  also  con. 
cerned  with  the  success  of  the  latter,  but  chiefly  when 
their  knowledge,  skill,  and  wealth  are  equaled  by  their 
virtues.  Our  country  may  have  vast  resources  and  grea< 
opportunities,  but  everything  in  the  end  depends  upon 
the  moral  quality  of  its  men  and  women.  Undermine 
and  corrupt  this  and  we  all  know  that  there  is  nothing 
to  hope  for.  The  uncorrupted  stock  of  true  patriots  in 
our   land   is   firmly  rooted   in   this  conviction,   which   is 


THE  CHIEF  AIM.  II 

worth  more  to  the  country  than  corn-fields  and  iron 
raines.  The  perpetual  enticement  and  blandishment  of 
worldly  success  so  universal  in  our  time  can  not  move  us 
if  we  found  one  theory  and  practice  upon  the  central  doc- 
trine of  moral  education.  Education,  therefore,  in  its 
popular,  untrammeled,  moral  sense,  is  the  greatest  con- 
cern of  society. 

In  projecting  a  general  plan  of  popular  education  we 
are  beholden  to  the  prejudices  of  no  man  nor  class  of 
men.  Not  even  the  traditional  prejudices  of  the  great 
body  of  teachers  should  stand  in  the  way  of  setting  up 
the  noblest  ideal  of  education.  Educat^ional  thinkers  are 
in  duty  bound  to  free  themselves  from  utilitarian  notions 
and  narrowness,  and  to  adopt  the  best  platform  that 
children  by  natural  birthright  can  stand  upon.  They  are 
called  upon  to  find  the  best  and  to  apply  it  to  as  many  as 
possible.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  each  child  has  a 
complete  growth  before  him.  His  own  possibilities  and 
not  the  ^tainments  of  his  parents  and  elders  are  the 
things  to  consider. 

Shall  we  seek  to  avoid  responsibility  for  the  moral 
aim  by  throwing  it  upon  the  family  and  the  church? 
But  the  more  we  probe  into  educational  problems  the 
more  we  shall  find  the  essential  unity  of  all  educational 
forces.  The  citadel  of  a  child's  life  is  his  moral  charac- 
ter, whether  the  home,  the  school,  or  the  church  build 
and  strengthen  its  walls.  If  asked  to  define  the  relation 
of  the  school  to  the  home  we  shall  quickly  see  that  they 
are  one  in  spirit  and  leading  purpose,  that  instead  of 
being  separated  they  should  be  brought  closer  together. 

In  conclusion,  therefore,  shall  we  make  moral  charac- 
^«r  the  clear  and  conscious  aim  of  school  education,  and 
then  subordinate  school  studies   and   discipline,   mental 


1-3  GENERAL   METHOD. 

trainiiif^  and  conduct,  to  this  aim?  It  will  be  a  great 
stimulus  to  thousands  of  teachers  to  discover  that  this  is 
the  real- purposf!  of  school  work,  and  that  there  are 
abundant  means  not  yet  used  of  realizing  it.  Having 
once  firmly  grasped  this  idea,  they  will  find  that  there  is 
no  other  having  half  its  potency.  It  will  put  a  substan- 
tial foundation  under  educational  labors,  both  theoretical 
and  practical,  which  will  make  them  the  noblest  of  enter- 
prises. Can  we  expect  the  public  school  to  drop  into 
such  a  purely  subordinate  function  as  that  of  intellectual 
training;  to  limit  its  influence  to  an  almost  mechanical 
action,  the  sharpening  of  the  mental  tools?  Stated  in  this 
form,  it  becomes  an  absurdity. 

Is  it  reasonable  lo  suppose  that  the  rank  and  file  of 
our  teachers  will  realize  the  importance  of  this  aim  in 
teaching  so  long  as  it  has  no  recognition  in  our  public 
system  of  instruction?  The  moral  element  is  largely 
present  among  educators  as  an  instinct,  but  it  ought  to 
be  evolved  into  a  cleaj'  pu7'pose  with  definite  means  of 
accomplishment.  It  is  an  open  secret  in  fact,  that  while 
our  public  instruction  is  ostensibly  secular,  havicg  noth- 
ing to  do  directly  with  religion  or  morals,  there  is  noth- 
ing about  which  good  teachers  are  more  thoughtful  and 
anxious  than  about  the  means  of  moral  influence.  Occa- 
sionally some  one  from  the  outside  attacks  our  public 
schools  as  without  morals  and  godless,  but  there  is  no 
lack  of  staunch  defenders  on  moral  grounds.  Theoretic- 
ally and  even  practically,  to  a  considerable  extent,  we 
are  all  agreed  upon  the  great  value  of  moral  education. 
But  there  is  a  striking  inconsistency  in  our  whole  posi- 
tion on  the  school  problem.  While  the  supreme  value  of 
the  moral  aim  will  be  generally  admitted,  it  has  no  open 
recognition  in  our  school  course,  either  as  a  principal  or 


THE  CHIEF  AIM.  13 

as  a  subordinate  aim  of  instruction.  Moral  education  is 
not  germane  to  the  avowed  purposes  of  the  public  school. 
If  it  gets  In  at  all  it  is  by  the  back  door.  It  is  incidental, 
not  primary.  The  importance  of  making  the  leading  aim 
of  education  clear  and  conscious  to  teachers,  is  great.  If 
their  conviction  on  this  j^oint  is  not  clear  they  will  cer- 
tainly not  concentrate  their  attention  and  efforts  upon  its 
realization.  Again,  in  a  business  like  education,  where 
there  are  so  many  important  and  necessary  results  to  be 
reached,  it  is  very  easy  and  common  to  put  forward  a 
subordinate  aim,  and  to  lift  it  into  undue  prominence,  even 
allowing  it  to  swallow  up  all  the  energies  of  teacher  and 
pupils.  Owing  to  this  diversity  of  opinion  among  teach- 
ers as  to  the  results  to  be  reached,  our  public  schools 
exhibit  a  chaos  of  conflicting  theory  and  practice,  and  a 
numberless  brood  of  hobby-riders. 

How  to  establish  the  moral  aim  in, the  center  of  the 
school  course,  how  to  subordinate  and  realize  the  other 
educational  aims  while  keeping  this  chiefly  in  view,  how 
to  make  instruction  and  school  discipline  contribute 
unitedly  to  the  formation  of  vigorous  moral  character, 
and  how  to  unite  home,  school,  and  other  life  experiences 
of  a  child  in  perfecting  the  one  great  aim  of  education — 
these  are  some  of  the  problems  whose  solution  will  be 
sought  in  the  following  chapters. 

It  will  be  especially  our  purpose  to  show  how  school 
instrnction  can  be  brought  into  the  direct  service  of  char- 
acter-buiir.ing.  This  is  th(>  point  upon  which  most  teach- 
ers are  skeptical.  Not  much  effort  has  been  made  of  late 
to  put  the  best  moral  materials  into  the  school  course. 
In  one  whole  set  of  school  studies,  and  that  the  m  )st  im- 
portant (reading,  literature,  and  history),  there  is  oppor- 
tunity through  all  the  grades  for  a  vivid  and  direct  cul- 


]^  GENERAL   METHOD. 

tivation  of  moral  ideas  and  convictions.  The  second  great 
series  of  studies,  the  natural  sciences,  come  in  to  support 
the  moral  aims,  while  tlie  personal  example  and  influence 
of  tiie  teacher,  and  the  common  experiences  and  incidents 
of  school  life  and  conduct,  give  abundant  occasion  to  ap- 
ply and  enforce  moral  ideas. 

That  the  other  justifiable  aims  of  education,  such  as 
physical  training,  mental  discipline,  orderly  habits,  gen- 
tlemanly conduct,  practical  utility  of  knowledge,  liberal 
culture,  and  the  free  development  of  individuality  will 
not  be  weakened  by  placing  the  moral  aim  in  the  fore- 
front of  educational  motives,  we  are  convinced.  To 
some  extent  these  questions  will  be  discussed  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages. 


THE   RELATIVE    VALUE.  15 


CHAPTER    11. 


RELATIVE    VALUE  OF  STUDIES. 

Being  convinced  that  the  controlling  aim  of  education 
should  be  moral,  we  shall  now  inquire  into  the  relative 
value  of  different  studies  and  their  fitness  to  reach  and 
satisfy  this  aim.  As  measured  upon  this  cardinal  pur- 
pose, what  is  the  intrinsic  value  of  each  school  study? 
The  branches  of  knowledge  furnish  the  materials  upon 
which  a  child's  mind  works.  Before  entering  upon  such 
a  long  and  up-hill  task  as  education,  with  its  weighty  re- 
sults, it  is  prudent  to  estimate  not  only  the  end  in  view, 
but  the  best  means  of  reaching  it.  Many  means  are 
offered,  some  trivial,  others  valuable.  A  careful  measure- 
ment, with  some  reliable  standard,  of  the  materials  fur- 
nished by  the  common  school,  is  our  first  task.  To  what 
extent  does  history  contribute  to  our  purpose?  What 
importance  have  geography  and  arithmetic?  How  do 
reading  and  natural  science  aid  a  child  to  grow  into  the 
full  stature  of  a  man  or  woman? 

These  questions  are  not  new,  but  the  answer  to  them 
has  t)een  long  delayed.  Since  the  time  of  Comenius,  to 
say  the  least,  they  have  seriously  disturbed  educators. 
But  few  have  had  the  courage,  industry,  and  breadth  of 
mind  of  a  Comenius,  to  sound  the  educational  waters  and 
to  lay  out  a  profitable  chart.  In  spite  of  Comenius' 
labors,  however,  and  those  of  other  educational  reform- 
ers be  they  never  so  energetic,  practical  progress 
toward  a  final  answer,  as  registered  in  school  courses, 
has  been  extremely  slow. 


16  GENERAL  METHOD. 

Herbert  Spencer  says:  "If  there  needs  any  further 
evidence  of  the  rude,  undeveloped  character  of  our  edu- 
cation, we  have  it  in  the  fact  that  the  comparative 
worths  of  tlio  different  kinds  of  knowledge  have  been 
as  yet  scarcely  even  discussed,  much  less  discussed  in  a 
methodic  way  with  definite  results.  Not  only  is  it  that 
no  standard  of  relative  values  has  yet  been  agreed  upon, 
but  the  existence  of  any  such  standard  has  not  been  con- 
ceived in  any  clear  manner.  And  not  only  is  it  that  the 
existence  of  such  a  standard  has  not  been  clearly  con- 
ceived, but  the  need  of  it  seems  to  have  been  scarcely 
even  felt.  Men  i-ead  books  on  this  topic  and  attend  lect- 
ures upon  that,  decide  that  their  children  shall  be  in- 
structed in  these  branches  and  not  in  those;  and  all 
under  the  guidance  of  mere  custom,  or  liking,  or  prejudice, 
without  ever  considering  the  enormous  importance  of 
determining  in  some  rational  way  what  things  are  really 
most  worth  learning.  *  *  ^  *  *  jyj^^  dress  their 
children's  minds  as  they  do  their  bodies,  in  the  prevail- 
ing fashion."     Spencer,  Education^  p.  26. 

Spencer  sees  clearly  the  importance  of  this  problem 
and  gives  it  a  vigorous  discussion  in  his  first  chapter, 
"  What  knowledge  is  of  most  worth?"  But  the  question 
is  a  broad  and  fundamental  one  and  in  his  p7'eference 
for  the  natural  sciences  he  seems  to  us  not  to  have  main- 
tained a  just  balance  of  educational  forces  in  preparing 
a  child  for  "complete  living."  His  theory  needs  also  to 
be  worked  out  into  greater  detail  and  applied  to  school 
conditions  before  it  can  be  of  much  value  to  teachers.  It 
can  scarcely  be  said  that  any  other  En glishman  or  A  merican 
has  seriously  grappled  with  this  problem.  Great  changes 
and  reforms  indeed  have  been  started,  especially  within  the 
last  fifty  years,  but  they  hare  been  undertaken  under  the 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  17 

pressure  of  general  popular  demands  and  have  resulted  in 
compromises  between  traditional  forces  and  urgent  pop- 
ular needs.  An  adequate  philosophical  inquiry  into  the 
relative  merit  of  studies  and  their  adaptability  to  nurture 
mental,  moral,  and  physical  qualities  has  not  been  made. 

The  Germans  have  worked  to  a  better  purpose.  Quite 
a  number  of  able  thinkers  among  them  have  given  their 
best  years  to  the  study  of  this  problem  of  relative  educa- 
tional values  and  to  a  working  out  of  its  results.  Her- 
bart,  Ziller,  Stoy,  and  Rein  have  been  deeply  interested 
in  philosophy  and  psychology  as  life-long  teachers  of 
these  subjects  at  the  university,  but  in  their  practice 
schools  in  the  same  place  they  also  stood  daily  face  to 
face  with  the  primary  difficulties  of  ordinary  teaching. 
At  the  outset,  and  before  laying  out  a  course  of  study, 
they  were  compelled  to  meet  and  settle  the  aim  of  educa- 
tion and  the  problem  of  relative  values.  Having  an- 
swered these  questions  to  their  own  satisfaction,  they 
proceeded  to  work  out  in  detail  a  common  school  course. 
The  Herbart  school  of  teacliers  has  presumed  to  call  its 
interpretation  of  educational  ideas  "scientific  pedagogy," 
a  somewhat  pretentious  name  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
many  leading  educators  in  Germany,  England,  and  else- 
where, deny  the  existence  of  such  a  science.  But  if  not  a 
science,  it  is  at  least  a  serious  attempt  at  one.  The  ex- 
position of  principles  that  follow  is  chiefly  derived  from 
them. 

With  us  the  present  time  is  favorable  to  a  rational 
inquiry  into  relative  educational  values  and  to  a  thor- 
ough-going application  of  the  results  to  school  courses 
and  methods. 

In  the  first  place  the  old  classical  monopoly  is  finally 
and  completely  broken,  at  least  so  far  as  the  common 


18  GENERAL  METHOD. 

school  is  concerned.     It  ruled  education  for  several  centu- 
ries, but  now  even  its  methods  of  discipline  are  losing 
their  antique  hold.      The  natural  sciences,  modern  his- 
tory,  and  literature  have  assumed  an  equal  place  with 
the  old  classical  studies  in  college  courses.     Freed  from 
old  traditions  and  prejudice,  our  common  school  is  now 
grounded  in  the  vernacular,  in  the  national  history  and 
literature,  and  in  home  geography  and  natural  science. 
Its  roots  go  deep  into  native  soil.      Secondly,  the  door  of 
the- common  school   has   been    thrown  open  to  the  new 
studies  and    they  have  entered    in  a    troop.       History, 
drawing,  natural  science,  modern  literature,  and  physical 
culture  have  been  added  to  the  old  reading,  writing,  and 
arithn^^tic.     The  common   school   was  never  so  untram- 
meled.      It  is  free  to  absorb  into  its  course  the  select 
materials  of    the    best  studies.       Teachers  really  enjoy 
more  freedom  in  selecting  and  arranging  subjects  and  in 
introducing    new  things   than  they  know  how  to  make 
use  of.     There  is  no  one  in  high  authority  to  check  the 
reform  spirit  and  even  local  boards  are  often  among  the 
advocates  of  change.     In  the  third  place,  by  multiplying 
studies,  the  common  school  course  has  grown  more  com- 
plex and  heterogeneous.     The  old  reading,  writing, 'arith- 
metic, and  grammar  could  not  be  shelved  for  the  sake  of 
the  new  studies  and  the  same  amount  of  time  must  be 
divided  now  among  many  branches.     It  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  if  all  the  studies  are  treated  in  a  shallow  and 
fragmentary  way.     Some  of  the  new  studies,  especially, 
are  not  well  taught.     There  is  less    of  unity  in  higher 
education  now  than  there  was  before  the  classical  studies 
and  "the  three  R's"  lost  their  supremacy.     Our  common 
school  course  has  become  a  batch  of  miscellanies.     We 
are  in  danger  of  overloading  pupils,  as  well  as  of  making 


THE   RELATIVE   VALUE.  19 

a  superficial  hodge-podge  of  all  branches.  There  is  im- 
perative need  for  sifting  the  studies  according  to  their 
value,  as  well  as  for  bringing  them  into  right  connection 
and  dependence  upon  one  another.  FoKrthly,  there  is 
a  large  body  of  thoughtful  and  inquiring  teachers  and 
principals  who  are  working  at  a  revision  of  tho  school 
course.  They  seek  something  tangible,  a  working  plan, 
which  will  help  them  in  their  present  perplexities  and 
show  them  a  wise  use  of  drawing,  natural  science,  and 
literature,  in  harmony  with  the  other  studies.  Fivally, 
since  we  are  in  the  midst  of  such  a  breaking-up  period, 
we  need  to  take  our  bearings.  In  order  to  avoid  mis- 
takes and  excesses  there  is  a  call  for  deep,  impartial,  and 
many-sided  thinking  on  educational  problems.  Suppos- 
ing thit  we  know  what  the  controling  aim  of  education 
is,  we  are  next  led  to  inquire  about  and  to  determine  the 
relative  value  of  studies  as  tributary  to  this  aim. 

It  is  not  however  our  purpose  to  give  an  original 
solution  to  this  problem  and  to  those  which  follow  it. 
We  must  decline  to  attempt  a  philosophical  inquiry  into 
fundamental  principles  and  their  origin.  Ours  is  the 
humbler  task  of  explaining  and  applying  principles  al- 
ready worked  out  by  others;  that  is,  to  give  the  results 
of  Herbartian  pedagogy  as  applied  to  our  schools. 

Instead  of  discussing  the  many  branches  of  study 
one  after  another,  it  will  be  well  to  make  a  broad  divi- 
sioii  of  them  into  three  classes  and  observe  the  marked 
features  and  value  of  each.  First,  history,  including  the 
subject  matter  of  biography, history, story, and  other  parts 
of  literature.  Second,  the  7iataral  sciences.  Third,  the 
formal  studies,  grammar,  writing,  much  of  arithmetic, 
and  the  symbols  used  in  reading. 


20  GENERAL  MliTIlOl). 

The.  first  two  open  up  the  great  fields  of  real  knowl- 
edge and  experience,  the  world  of  man  and  of  external 
nature,  the  two  great  reservoirs  of  interesting  facts. 
We  will  first  examine  these  two  fields  and  consider  their 
value  as  constituent  parts  of  the  school  course. 

Ilistori/,  in  our  present  sense,  includes  what  we  usu- 
ally understand  by  it,  as  U.  S.  history,  modern  and  an- 
cient history,  also  biography,  tradition,  fiction  as  express- 
ing human  life  and  the  novel  or  romance,  and  historical 
and  literary  masterpieces  of  all  sorts,  as  the  drama  and 
the  epic  poem,  so  far  as  they  delineate  man's  experience 
and  character.  In  a  still  broader  sense,  history  includes 
language  as  the  expression  of  men's  thoughts  and  feei- 
.ings.  But  this  is  the  formal  side  of  history  with  which 
we  are  not  at  present  concerned.  History  deals  with 
men's  motives  and  actions  as  individuals  or  in  societyj 
with  their  dispositions,  habits,  and  institutions,  and  | 
with  the  monuments  and  literature  they  have  left. 

The  relations  of  persons  to  each  other  in  society  give 
rise  to  morals.  How?  The  act  of  a  person — as  when  a 
fireman  rescues  a  child  from  a  burning  building — shows  a 
disposition  in  the  actor.  We  praise  or  condemn  this  dis- 
position as  the  deed  is  good  or  bad.  But  each  moral 
judgment,  rightly  given,  leaves  us  stronger.  To  appre- 
ciate and  judge  fairly  the  life  and  acts  of  a  woman  like 
Mary  Lyon,  or  of  a  man  such  as  Samuel  Armstrong,  is 
to  awaken  something  of  their  spirit  and  moral  temper  in 
ourselves.  Whether  in  the  life  of  David  or  of  Shylock,  or 
of  the  people  whom  they  represent,  the  study  of  men  is 
primarily  a  study  of  morals,  of  conduct.  It  is  in  the  per- 
sonal hardships,  struggles,  and  mutual  contact  of  men 
that  motives  and  moral  impulses  are  observed  and 
weighed.     In  such  men  as  John  Banyan,  William  the  Si- 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  21 

ient,  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  we  are  much  interested  to 
know  what  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  they  possessed, 
and  especially  what  human  sympathies  and  antipathies 
they  felt.  Livingstone  embodied  in  his  African  life  cer- 
tain Christian  virtues  which  we  love  and  honor  the  more 
because  they  were  so  severely  and  successfully  tested. 
Although  the  history  of  men  and  of  society  has  many 
uses,  its  best  influence  is  in  illustrating  and  inculcating 
moral  ideas.  It  is  teaching  niorals  by  example.  Even 
living  companions  often  exert  less  influence  upon  children 
than  the  characters  impressed  upon  their  minds  from 
reading.  The  deliberate  plan  of  teachers  and  parents 
might  make  this  influence  more  salutary  and  effective. 

It  will  strike  most  teachers  as  a  surprise  to  say  that 
the  chief  use  of  history  study  is  to  form  moral  notions  in 
children.  Their  experience  with  this  branch  of  school 
work  has  been  quite  different.  They  have  not  so  re- 
garded nor  used  history.  It  has  been  generally  looked 
upon  as  a  body  of  useful  information  that  intelligent  per- 
sons must  possess.  Our  history  texts  also  have  been  con- 
structed for  another  purpose,  namely,  to  summarize  and 
present  important  facts  in  as  brief  space  as  possible,  not 
to  reveal  personal  actions  and  character  as  a  formative 
moral  influence  in  the  education  of  the  young.  Even  as 
sources  of  valuable  information,  Spencer  shows  that  our 
histories  have  been  extremely  deficient;  but  for  moral 
purposes  they  are  almost  worthless. 

No.v,  moral  dispositions  are  a  better  fruitage  and  test 
of  worth  in  men  than  any  intellectual  acquirements. 
History  is  already  a  recognized  study  of  admitted  value 
in  the  schools.  It  is  a  shame  to  strip  it  of  that  content 
and  of  that  influence  which  are  its  chief  merit.  To  study 
the  conduct  of  persons  as  illustrating  right  actions  is,  in 


23  GENERAL  METHOD. 

quality,  the  highest  form  of  instruction.  Other  very  im- 
portant things  are  also  involved  in  a  right  study  of  his- 
tory. There  are  economic,  political,  and  social  institu- 
tions evolved  out  of  previous  history ;  there  are  present 
intricate  problems  to  be  approached  and  understood. 
But  all  these  questions  rest  to  a  large  extent  upon  moral 
principles.  But  while  these  political,  social,  and  eco- 
nomic interests  are  beyond  the  present  reach  of  children, 
biography, individual  life  and  action  in  their  simple  forms, 
are  plain  to  their  understanding.  They  not  only  make 
moral  conduct  real  and  impressive,  but  they  gradually 
lead  up  to  an  appreciation  of  history  in  its  social  and  in- 
stitutional forms. 

Some  of  the  best  historical  materials  (from  biography, 
tradition,  and  fiction)  should  be  absorbed  by  children  in 
each  grade  as  an  essential  part  of  the  substratum 
of  moral  ideas.  This  implies  more  than  a  collection  of 
historical  stories  in  a  supplementary  reader  for  inter- 
mediate grades.  It  means  that  history  in  the  broad 
sense  is  to  be  an  important  study  in  every  grade,  and 
that  it  shall  become  a  center  and  reservoir  from  which 
reading  books  and  language  lessons  draw  their  supplies 
These  biographies,  stories,  and  historical  episodes  must 
be  the  best  which  our  history  and  classic  literature  can 
furnish,  and  whatever  is  of  like  virtue  in  the  life  of  other 
kindred  peoples,  of  England,  Germany,  Greece,  etc. 

If  history  in  this  sense  can  be  made  a  strong  auxiliary 
to  moral  education  in  common  schools,  the  whole  body  of 
earnest  teachers  will  be  gratified.  For  there  is  no  theme 
among  them  of  such  perennial  interest  and  depth  of 
meaning  as  moral  culture  in  schools.  It  is  useless  to  talk 
of  confining  our  teachers  to  the  intellectual  exercises  out- 
lined in  text  books.     They  are  conscious  of  dealing  with 


THE   RELATIVE   VALUE.  2S 

children  of  moral  susceptibility.  In  our  meetings,  dis- 
cussions on  the  means  of  moral  influence  are  more  fre- 
quent and  earnest  than  on  any  other  topic;  and  in  their 
daily  work  hundreds  of  our  teachers  are  aiming  at  moral 
character  in  childi*en  more  than  at  anything  else.  As 
they  free  themselves  from  mechanical  requirements  and 
begin  to  recognize  their  true  function,  they  dicover  the 
transcendent  importance  of  moral  education,  that  it  under- 
lies and  gives  meaning  to  all  the  other  work  of  the 
teacher. 

But  teachers  heretofore  have  taken  a  narrow  view  of 
the  moral  influences  at  their  disposal.  Their  ever-recur- 
ring emphatic  refrain  has  been  'Hhe  example  of  the 
teacher]''  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  there  is  no  better  means 
of^  instilling  moral  ideas  than  the  presence  and  inspira- 
tion of  a  high-toned  teacher.  We  know,  however,  that 
teachers  need  moral  stimulus  and  encouragement  as  much 
as  anybody.  It  will  not  do  to  suppose  that  they  have 
reached  the  pinnacle  of  moral  excellence  and  can  stand  as 
all-sufficient  exemplars  to  children.  The  teacher  himself 
must  have  food  as  well  as  the  children.  He  must  partake  of 
the  loaf  he  distributes  to  them.  The  clergyman  also  should 
be  an  example  of  Christian  virtue,  but  he  preaches 
the  gospel  as  illustrated  in  the  life  of  Christ,  of  St.  Paul, 
and  of  others.  In  pressing  home  moral  and  religious 
truths  his  appeal  is  to  great  sources  of  inspiration  which 
lie  outside  of  himself.  Why  should  the  teacher  rely  upon 
his  own  unaided  example  more  than  the  preacher?  No 
teacher  can  feel  that  he  embodies  in  himself,  except  in  an 
imperfect  way,  the  strong  moral  ideas  that  have  made 
the  history  of  good  men  worth  reading.  No  matter  what 
resources  he  may  have  in  his  own  character,  the  teacher 
needs  to  employ  moral  forces  that  lie  outside  of  himself, 


24  GENERAL  METHOD. 

ideals  toward  which  he  struggles  and  towards  which  he 
inspires  and  leads  others.  The  very  fact  that  he  appre- 
ciates and  adnnires  a  man  like  Longfellow  or  Peter  Cooper 
will  stir  the  children  with  like  feelings.  In  this  sense  it  is  a 
mistake  to  center  all  attention  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
teacher.  He  is  but  a  guide,  or,  like  Goldsmith's  preacher, 
he  allures  to  brighter  worlds  and  leads  the  way.  It  is  better 
for  pupil  and  teacher  to  enter  into  the  companionship  of 
common  aims  and  ideals.  For  them  to  study  together  and 
admire  the  conduct  of  Roger  Williams  is  to  bring  them  into 
closer  sympathy,  and  what  do  teachers  need  more  than  to 
get  into  personal  sympathy  with  their  children?  Let  them 
climb  the  hill  together,  and  enjoy  the  views  together,  and 
grow  so  intimate  in  their  aims  and  sympathies  that  after- 
life cannot  break  the  bond.  When  the  inspirations  and 
aims  thus  gained  have  gi'adually  changed  into  tendencies 
and  habits,  the  child  is  morally  full-fledged.  It  is  high 
ground  upon  which  to  land  youth,  or  aid  in  landing  him, 
but  it  is  clearly  in  view. 

It  is  only  gradually  that  moral  ideas  gain  an  ascend- 
ency, first  over  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  a  child  and 
later  still  over  his  conduct.  Many  good  impressions  at 
first  seem  to  bear  no  fruit  in  action.  But  examples  and 
experience  reiterate  the  truth  till  it  finds  a  firm  lodgment 
and  begins  to  act  as  a  check  upon  natural  impulses. 
Many  a  child  reads  the  stories  in  the  Youth's  Companion 
with  absorbing  interest  but  in  the  home  circle  fails  no- 
ticeably to  imitate  the  conduct  he  admires.  But  moral 
ideas  must  grow  a  little  before  they  can  yield  fruit.  The 
seed  of  example  must  drop  into  the  soil  of  the  mind  under 
favorable  conditions;  it  must  germinate  and  send  up  its 
shoots  to  some  height  before  its  presence  and  nature 
can  be  clearly  seen.       The  application  of    moral  ideas  to 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  25 

conduct  is  very  important  even  in  childhood,  out  patience 
and  care  are  necessary  in  most  cases.  There  must  be 
timely  sowing  of  the  seed  and  judicious  cultivation,  if 
good  fruits  are  to  be  gathered  later  on.  There  is  indeed 
much  anxiety  and  painful  uncertainty  on  the  part  of 
those  who  charge  themselves  with  the  moral  training  of 
children.  Labor  and  birth  pains  are  antecedent  to  the 
delivery  of  a  moral  being.  Then  again  a  child  must  de- 
velop according  to  what  is  in  him,  his  nature  and  pecu- 
liar disposition.  The  processes  of  growth  are  within 
him  and  the  best  you  can  do  is  to  give  them  scope.  He 
\sfree  and  you  are  bound  to  minister  to  his  best  freedom. 
The  common  school  age  is  the  formative  period.  At  six 
a  child  is  morally  immature;  at  fifteen  the  die  has  been 
stamped.  This  youthful  wilderness  must  be  crossed. 
We  can't  turn  back.  There  is  no  other  way  of  reaching 
the  promised  land.  But  there  are  rebellions  and  haltings 
and  disorderly  scenes. 

This  is  a  tortuous  road  !  Isn't  there  a  quicker  and 
easier  way?  The  most  speedily  constructed  road  across 
this  region  is  a  short  treatise  on  morals  for  teacher  and 
pupil.  In  this  way  it  is  possible  to  have  all  the  virtues 
and  faults  tabulated,  labeled,  and  transferred  in  brief 
space  to  the  minds  of  the  children  (if  the  discipline  is  rig- 
orous enough).  Swallow  a  catechism,  reduced  to  a  verbal 
memory  product.  Pack  away  the  essence  of  morals  in  a 
few  general  laws  and  rules  and  have  the  children  learn 
them.  Some  day  they  may  understand.  What  astound- 
ing faith  in  memory  cram  and  dry  forms  !  We  can  pave 
such  a  road  through  the  fields  of  moral  science,  but  when 
a  child  has  traveled  it  is  he  a  whit  the  better  ?  No  such 
paved  road  is  good  for  anything.  It  isn't  even  comfortable. 
It  has  been  tried  a  dozen  times  in  much  less   important 


26  GENERAL  METHOD. 

fields  of  knowledge  than  morals.     Moral  ideas  spring  up 
out  of  experience  with  persons  either  in  real  life  or  in  the 
books  we  read.       Examples  of  moral  action  drawn  from 
life  are  the  only   thing  that  can  give  meaning  to  moral 
precepts.      If  we  see  a  harsh  man  beating  his  horse,  we 
get     an     ineffaceable     impression    of     harshness.       By 
reading   the  story  of   the    Black    Beauty    we  acquire  a 
lively    sympathy    for   animals.      Then    the   maxim    *'  A 
merciful   man   is  merciful  to  his   beast "  will  be  a  good 
summary  of  the  impressions  received.      Moral  ideas  al- 
ways have  a  concrete  basis  or  origin.     Some  companion 
with  whose  feelings  and  actions  you  are  in  close  personal 
contact,    or  some  character   from   history  or  fiction   by 
whose  personality  you  have  been  strongly  attracted,  gives 
you  your  keenest  impressions  of  moral  qualities.     To  be- 
gin with  abstract  moral  teaching,  or  to  put  faith  in  it,  is 
to  misunderstand  children.      In  morals  as  in  other  forms 
of  knowledge,  children  are  overwhelmingly  interested  in 
personal   and  individual    examples,    things    which    have 
form,  color,  action.     The  attempt  to  sum  up  the  import- 
ant truths  of  a  subject  and  present  them  as  abstractions 
to  children  is  almost  certain  to  be  a  failure,  pedagogically 
considered.      It  has  been  demonstrated  again  and  again, 
even  in   high   schools,  that   botany,    chemistry,  physics, 
and  zoology  can  not  be  taught  by  such  brief  scientific 
compendia   of    rules    and    principles — "  Words,    words, 
words,"  as  Hamlet  said.     We  can  not  learn  geography 
from   definitions   and    map   questions,    nor  morals   from 
catechisms.      And  just  as  in  natural  science  we  are  re- 
sorting perforce  to  plants,    animals,    and   natural    phe- 
nomena, so  in   morals  we  turn  to  the  deeds  and  lives  of 
men.     Columbus  in  his  varying  fortunes  leaves  vivid  im- 
pressions of  the  moral  strength  and  weakness  of  himself 


THE   RELATIVE  VALUE.  -'7 

and  of  others.  John  Winthrop  gives  frequent  examples  of 
generous  and  unselfish  good-will  to  the  settlers  about  Bos- 
ton. Little  Lord  Fauntleroy  is  a  better  treatise  on  morals 
for  children  than  any  of  our  sermonizers  have  written.  We 
must  get  at  morals  without  moralizing  and  drink  in  moral 
convictions  without  resorting  to  moral  platitudes.  Edu- 
cators are  losing  faith  in  words,  definitions,  and  classifi- 
cations. It  is  a  truism  that  we  can't  learn  chemistry 
or  zoology  from  books  alone,  nor  can  moral  judgments  be 
rendered  except  from  individual  action^. 

A  little  reflection  will  show  that  we  are  only  demand- 
ing object  lessons  in  the  field  of  moral  education,  exten- 
sive, systematic  object  lessons;  choice  experiences  and 
episodes  from  human  life,  simple  and  clear,  painted  in 
natural  colors,  as  shown  by  our  best  history  and  litera- 
ture. To  appreciate  the  virtues  and  vices,  to  sympathize 
with  better  impulses,  we  must  travel  beyond  words  and 
definitions  till  we  come  in  contact  with  the  personal  deeds 
that  first  give  rise  to  them.  The  life  of  Martin  Luther, 
with  its  faults  and  merits  honestly  represented, is  a  power- 
frl  moral  tonic  to  the  reader;  the  autobiography  of 
Franklin  brings  out  a  great  variety  of  homely  truths  in 
the  form  of  interesting  episodes  in  his  career.  Adam 
Bede  and  Romola  impress  us  more  powerfully  and  perma- 
nently than  the  best  sermons,  because  the  individual 
realism  in  them  leads  to  a  vividness  of  moral  judgment  of 
their  acts  unequalled.  King  Lear  teaches  us  tlie  folly  of 
a  rash  judgment  with  overwhelming  force.  Evangeline 
awakens  our  sympathies  as  no  moralist  ever  dreamed  of 
doing.  Uncle  Tom  in  Mrs.  Stowe's  story  was  a  stronger 
preacher  than  Wendell  Phillips.  William  Tell  in  Schil- 
ler's play  kindles  our  love  for  heroic  deeds  into  an 
enthusiasm.       The    best   myths,    historical    biographies, 


28  GENERAL   METHOD. 

novels,  and  dramas,  are  the  richest  sources  of  moral 
stimulus  because  they  lead  us  into  the  immediate  presence 
of  those  men  and  women  whose  deeds  stir  up  our  moral 
natures.  In  the  representations  of  the  masters  we  are 
in  the  presence  of  moral  ideas  clothed  in  flesh  and  blood, 
real  and  yet  idealized.  Generosity  is  not  a  name  but  the 
act  of  a  person  which  wins  our  interest  and  favor.  To 
get  the  impress  of  kindness  we  must  see  an  act  of  kind- 
ness and  feel  the  glow  it  produces.  When  Sir  Philip 
Sidney,  wounded  on  the  battlefield  and  suffering  with 
thirst,  reached  out  his  hand  for  a  cup  of  water  that  was 
brought,  his  glance  fell  upon  a  dying  soldier  who  viewed 
the  cup  with  great  desire;  Sidney  handed  him  the  water 
with  the  words,  "Thy  necessity  is  greater  than  mine." 
No  one  can  refuse  his  approval  for  this  act.  After  tell- 
ing the  story  of  the  man  who  went  down  to  Jericho  and 
fell  among  thieves,  and  then  of  the  priest,  the  Levite, 
and  the  Samaritan  who  passed  that  way,  Jesus  put  the 
question  to  his  critic,  "Who  was  neighbor  to  him  that 
fell  among  thieves?"  And  the  answer  came  even  from 
unwilling  lips,  "  He  that  showed  mercy.'  When  Nathan 
Hale  on  the  scafi'old  regretted  that  he  had  but  one  life  to 
lose  for  his  country,  we  realize  better  what  patriotism  is. 
On  the  other  hand  it  is  natural  to  condemn  icrong  deeds 
when  presented  clearly  and  objectively  in  the  action  of 
another.  Nero  caused  Christians  to  be  falsely  accused 
and  then  to  be  condemned  to  the  claws  of  wild  beasts  in 
the  arena.  When  such  cruelty  is  practiced  against  the 
innocent  and  helpless,  we  condemn  the  act.  When  Co- 
lum.bus  was  thrown  into  chains  instead  of  being  rewarded, 
w^  condemn  the  Spaniards.  In  the  same  way  the  real 
world  of  persons  about  us,  the  acts  of  parents,  compan- 
ions, and  teachers  are  powerful  in  giving  a  good  or  bad 


THE   RELATIVE    VALUE.  29 

tone  to  our  sentiments,  because,  as  living  object  lessons, 
their  impress  is  directly  and  constantly  upon  us. 

In  such  cases'  taken  from  daily  experience  and  from 
illustrations  of  personal  conduct  in  books,  it  is  possible  to 
observe  how  moral  Jndr/rnents  originate  and  by  repetition 
grow  into  convictions.  They  spring  up  naturally  and 
surely  when  we  understand  well  the  circumstances  under 
which  an  act  was  performed.  The  interest  and  sympathy 
felt  for  the  persons  lends  great  vividness  to  the  judg- 
ments expressed.  Each  individual  act  stands  out  clearly 
and  calls  forth  a  prompt  and  unerring  approval  or  disap 
proval.  (But  later  the  judgment  must  react  upon  our 
own  conduct.)  The  examples  are  simple  and  objective, 
free  from  selfish  interest  on  the  child's  part,  so  that 
good  and  bad  acts  are  recognized  in  their  true  quality. 
These  simple  moral  judgments  are  only  a  beginning,  only 
a  sowing  of  the  seed.  But  harvests  will  not  grow  and 
ripen  unless  seed  has  been  laid  in  the  ground.  It  is  a 
long  road  to  travel  before  these  early  moral  impressions 
develop  into  firm  convictions  which  rule  the  conduct  of 
an  adult.  But  education  is  necessarily  a  slow  process, 
and  it  is  likely  to  be  a  perverted  one  unless  the  founda- 
tion is  carefully  laid  in  early  years.  The  fitting  way 
then  to  cultivate  moral  judgments,  that  is,  to  start  just 
:dca?  of  right  and  wrong,  of  virtues  and  vices,  is  by  a 
ft  n-ular  and  systematic  presentation  of  persons  illustrat- 
iiir  noble  and  ignoble  acts.  A  preference  for  the  right 
and  an  aversion  for  the  wrong  will  be  the  sure  result  of 
careful  teaching.  Habits  of  judging  will  be  formed  and 
strong  moral  convictions  established  which  may  be  grad- 
ually brought  to  influence  and  control  action. 

A  good  share  of  the  influences  that  are  thrown  around 
an  ordinary  child  need  to  be  counteracted.     It  can  be 


30  GENERAL   METHOD. 

done  to  a  considerable  extent  by  instruction.  Many  of 
the  interesting  characters  of  history  are  better  company 
for  us  and  for  children  than  our  neighbors  and  contempo- 
raries. For  the  purposes  of  moral  example  and  inspira- 
tion we  may  select  as  companions  for  them  the  best  per- 
sons in  history,  provided  we  know  how  to  select  for  our- 
selves and  others.  Their  acts  are  personal,  biographical, 
and  interesting,  and  appeal  at  once  to  children  as  well  as 
to  their  elders.  There  is  no  good  reason  why  a  much 
greater  number  of  our  school  children  should  not  be 
brought  under  the  influence  of  the  best  books  suited  to 
their  age.  Here  is  a  source  of  educational  influence  of 
high  quality  which  is  left  too  much  to  accident  and  to 
the  natural,  unaided  instinct  of  children.  A  few  get  the 
benefit  but  many  more  are  capable  of  receiving  it.  How 
much  better  the  school  choice  and  treatment  of  such  books 
may  be  than  the  loose  and  miscellaneous  reading  of  chil- 
dren, is  discussed  in  Special  Method.  A  fit  introduction 
of  children  to  this  class  of  literature  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  teachers,  and  all  the  later  reading  of  pupils  will 
feel  the  salutary  effect. 

If  this  is  the  proper  origin  and  culture  of  moral  ideas, 
we  desire  to  know  how  to  utilize  it  in  the  common  school 
course.  It  can  only  be  done  by  an  extensive  use  of  his- 
torical and  literary  materials  in  all  grades  with  the  con- 
scious piirjyose  of  shaping  moral  ideas  and  character. 
That  the  school  has  such  influence  at  its  disposal  can  not 
be  reasonably  denied  by  any  one  who  believes  that  the 
family  or  the  church  can  affect  the  moral  character  of 
their  children.  It  may  be  objected  that  the  school  thus 
takes  up  the  proper  work  of  the  home,  when  it  ought  to 
be  occupied  with  other  things..  Would  that  the  homes 
were  all  good!      But  even  if  they  were  the  teacher  could 


THE   RELATIVE   VALUE.  31 

not  fold  his  arms  over  a  responsibility  removed.  As  soon 
as  a  boy  enters  school,  if  not  sooner,  he  begins,  in  some 
sense,  to  outgrow  the  home.  New  influences  and  inter- 
ests find  a  lodgment  in  his  affections.  Companions,  the 
wider  range  of  his  acquaintances,  studies,  and  ambitions, 
share  now  with  the  home.  John  Locke  objected  radi- 
cally to  English  public  schools  on  this  account.  But 
even  if  we  desired,  we  could  not  resort  to  private  tutors 
as  Locke  did.  The  child  is  growing  and  changing.  Who 
shall  organize  unity  out  of  this  maze  of  thoughts,  inter- 
ests, and  influences,  casting  out  the  useless  and  bad,  com- 
bining and  strengthening  the  good?  The  more  service 
the  home  renders  the  better.  The  child's  range  of  thought 
and  ambition  is  expanding.  Who  has  the  best  survey  of 
the  field?  In  many  cases  at  least,  the  teacher,  especially 
where  parents  lack  the  culture  and  the  children  need  a 
guide.  Who  spends  six  hours  a  day  directing  these  cur- 
rents of  thought  and  interest?  We  are  not  disposed  to 
underestimate  the  magnitude  of  the  task  here  laid  upon 
the  teacher.  The  rights  and  duties  of  the  home  are  not 
put  in  question.  Indeed  the  spirit  of  this  kind  of  teach- 
ing is  best  illustrated  in  a  good  home.  A  teacher  who 
has  a  father's  anxiety  in  the  real  welfare  of  children  will 
not  forget  his  duty  in  watching  their  moral  growth. 
The  moral  atmosphere  of  a  good  home  will  remain  the 
ideal  for  the  school.  In  fact,  Herbart's  plan  of  education 
originated  not  in  a  school-room,  but  in  an  excellent 
home  in  Switzerland,  where  he  spent  three  years  in  the 
private  instruction  of  three  boys.  The  conscientious  zeal 
with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  the  moral  and  mental 
growth  of  these  children  is  a  model  for  teachers.  The 
shaping  of  three  characters  was,  according  to  his  view, 
entrusted   to  him.     The  common   notion  of   intellectual 


32  GENERAL   METHOD. 

growth  and  strength  which  rules  in  such  cases  was  at 
once  subordinated  to  character  development  in  the  moral 
sense.  Not  that  the  two  ideas  are  at  all  antagonistic, 
but  one  is  more  important  than  the  other.  The  selection 
of  reading  matter,  of  studies,  and  of  em^>!oyments,  was 
adapted  to  each  boy  with  a  view  to  influencing  conduct 
and  moral  action. 

The  Herbart  school  adheres  to  this  view  of  education, 
and  has  transferred  its  spirit  and  method  to  the  schools. 
TheHerbartians  have  the  hardihood,  in  this  age. of  moral 
skeptics,  to  believe  not  only  in  moral  example  but  also  in 
moral  teaching.  (By  moral  skeptics  we  mean  those  who 
believe  in  morals  but  not  in  moral  instruction.)  They 
seek  first  of  all  historical  materials  of  the  richest  moral 
content,  in  vivid  personification,  upon  which  to  nourish 
the  moral  spirit  of  children.  If  properly  treated,  this 
subject  matter  will  soon  win  the  children  by  its  power 
over  feeling  and  judgment.  With  Crusoe  the  child  goes 
through  every  hardship  and  success;  with  !?^braham  he 
lives  in  tents,  seeks  pastures  for  his  flocks,  and  gener- 
ously marches  out  to  the  rescue  of  his  kijiismen.  He 
should  not  read  Caesar  with  a  slow  and , toilsome  drag 
(parsing  and  construing)  that  would  rend^r/a  bright  boy 
stupid.  If  he  goes  with  Caesar  at  all,  he-Ynust  build  an 
agger,  fight  battles,  construct  bridges,  and  approve  or 
condemn  Caesar's  acts.  But  we  doubt  the  moral  value  of 
Caisar's  Gallic  wars.  By  reading  Plutarch  we  may  see 
that  the  Latins  and  Greeks,  before  the  days  of  their 
degeneracy,  nourished  their  rising  youth  upon  the  tra- 
ditions of  their  ancestry.  The  education  produced  a 
tough  and  sinewy  brood  of  moral  qualities.  Their  great 
men  were  great  characters,  largely  because  of  the  mother- 
milk  of  national  tradition  and  family  training.     In  Scotch, 


THE   RELATIVE   VALUE.  33 

English,  and  German  history  we  are  familiar  with  Alfred, 
Bruce,  Siegfried,  and  many  other  heroes  of  similar  value 
in  the  training  of  youth. 

It  will  be  well  for  us  to  look  into  our  own  history  and 
see  what  sort  of  a  moral  heritage  of  educative  materials 
it  has  left  us.  What  noble  examples  does  it  furnish  of 
right  thought  and  action?  Have  we  any  home-bred  food 
like  this  for  the  nourishment  of  our  growing  youth?  Our 
native  American  history  is  indeed  nobler  in  tone  and  more 
abundant.  For  moral  educative  purposes  in  the  training 
of  the  young  the  history  of  America,  from  the  early  ex- 
plorations and  settlements  along  the  Atlantic  coast  to 
the  present,  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  history.  It  was  a 
race  of  moral  heroes  that  led  the  first  colonies  to  many  of 
the  early  settlements.  Winthrop,  Penn,  "Williams',  Ogle- 
thorpe, Raleigh,  and  Columbus  were  great  and  simple 
characters,  deeply  moral  and  practical.  For  culture  pur- 
poses, where  can  their  equals  be  found?  And  where  was 
given  a  better  opportunity  for  the  display  of  personal 
virtues  than  by  the  leaders  of  these  little  danger-encir- 
cled communities?  Theleaven  of  purity,  piety,  andmanly 
independence  which  they  brought  with  them  and  illus- 
trated, has  never  ceased  to  work  powerfully  among  our 
people.  Why  not  bring  the  children  into  direct  contact 
with  these  characters  in  the  intermediate  grades,  not  by 
short  and  sketchy  stories,  but  by  full  life  pictures  of  these 
men  and  their  surroundings?  We  have  not  been  wholly 
lacking  in  literary  artists  who  have  worked  up  a  part  of 
these  materials  into  a  more  durable  and  acceptable  form 
for  our  schools.  We  need  to  make  an  abundant  use  of 
this  and  other  history  for  our  boys  and  girls,  not  by 
devoting  a  year  in  the  upper  grades  to  a  barren  outline 
of  American  annals,  but  by  a  proper  distribution  of  these 


34  GENERAL  METHOD. 

and  other  similar  rich  treasures  throughout  the  grades  of 
the  common  school. 

Tradition  and  fiction  are  scarcely  less  valuable  than 
biography  and  history  because  of  their  vivid  portrayal  of 
strong  and  typical  characters.  Our  own  literature,  and 
the  world's  literature  at  large,  are  a  store-house  well- 
stocked  with  moral  educative  materials,  properly  suited 
to  children  at  different  ages,  if  only  sorted,  selected,  and 
arranged.  But  this  requires  broad  knowledge  of  our  best 
literature  and  clear  insight  into  child  character  at  dif- 
ferent ages.  This  problem  will  not  be  solved  in  a  day, 
nor  in  a  life-time. 

In  making  a  progressive  series  of  our  best  historical 
and  literary  products,  it  is  necessary  to  select  those 
materials  which  are  better  adapted  than  anything  else  to 
interest,  influence,  and  mould  the  character  of  children  at 
each  time  of  life.  It  is  now  generally  agreed  by  the  best 
teachers  that  these,  selections  shall  be  classical  master- 
pieces, not  in  fragments  but  as  wholes.  They  should  be 
those  classical  materials  that  bear  the  stamp  of  genuine 
nobility.  Goethe  says  ^'■The  best  is  good  enough  for  chil- 
dren. "  For  some  years  past  in  our  grammar  grades  we 
have  been  usinc;  some  of  the  best  selections  of  Whittier, 
Longfellow,  Bryant,  and  others,  and  we  are  not  even 
frightened  by  the  length  of  such  productions  as  Evan- 
geline, The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  or  Julius  Caesar.  A  simple, 
adapted  version  of  Robinson  Crusoe  is  used  in  some 
schools  as  a  second  reader.  From  time  immemorial  choice 
selections  of  prose  and  verse  have  formed  the  staple  of 
our  readei's  above  the  third.  But  generally  these  selec- 
tions are  scrappy  or  fragmentary.  Few  of  the  great 
masterpieces  have  been  used  because  most  of  them  are 
supposed  to  be  too  long.     Broken  fragments  of  our  choice 


THE   RELATIVE   VALUE.  35 

literary  products  have  been  served  up,  but  the  best  liter- 
ary works  as  wholes  have  never  been  given  to  the  chil- 
dren in  the  schools.  The  Greek  youth  were  better  served 
with  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  and  some  of  our  grandfathers 
with  the  tales  of  the  Old  Testament.  We  now  go  still 
further  back  in  the  child-life  and  make  use  of  fairy  tales 
in  the  first  grade.  But  many  are  not  yet  able  to  realize 
that  select  fairy  stories  are  genuinely  classical,  that  they 
are  as  well  adapted  to  stimulate  the  minds  of  children  as 
Hamlet  the  minds  of  adults.     (See  Special  Method.) 

The  chief  aim  of  our  schools  all  along  has  not  been 
an  appreciation  of  literary  masterpieces  either  in  their 
moral  or  art  value,  but  to  acquire  skill  in  reading,  flu- 
ency, and  naturalness,  of  expression.  Our  schools  have 
been  almost  completely  absorbed  in  the  purely  formal 
use  of  our  literary  materials,  learning  to  read  in  the  ear- 
lier j^rades  and  learning  to  read  with  rhetorical  expres- 
sion and  confidence  in  the  later  ones.  In  the  present 
argument  our  chief  concern  is  not  with  the  formal  use  of 
literary  materials  for  practice  in  reading,  but  with  the 
moral  culture,  conviction,  and  habit  of  life  they  may  fos- 
ter. Nor  have  we  chiefly  in  view  the  art  side  of  our  best 
literary  pieces.  Appreciation  of  beauty  in  poetry  and 
of  strength  in  prose,  admirable  as  tliey  may  be,  are  quite 
secondary  to  the  main  purpose.  Coming  in  direct  and 
vivid  contact  with  manly  deeds  or  with  unselfish  acts  as 
personified  in  choice  biography,  history,  fiction,  and  real 
life,  will  inspire  children  with  thoughts  that  make  life 
worth  living.  Neither  formal  skill  in  reading  nor  aj)pre- 
elation  of  literary  art  can  atone  for  the  lack  of  direct 
moral  incentive  which  historical  studies  should  give.  All 
three  ends  should  be  reached. 


36  GENERAL  METHOD. 

Many  teachers  are  now  calling  for  a  change  in  the 
spirit  with  which  the  best  biography  and  literature  are 
used.  They  call  for  an  improvement  in  the  quality  and 
an  increase  in  the  quantity  of  complete  historical  epi- 
sodes and  of  literary  masterpieces.  An  appreciative 
reading  of  Ivanhoe  revives  the  spirit  of  that  age.  The 
life  of  Samuel  Adams  is  an  epic  that  gives  the  youth  a 
chance  to  live  amid  the  stirring  scenes  of  Boston  in  a 
notable  time.  Children  are  to  live  in  thought  and  inter- 
est the  lives  of  many  men  of  other  generations,  as  of 
Tell,  Columbus,  Livingstone,  Lincoln,  Penn,  Franklin, 
Fulton.  They  are  to  partake  of  the  experiences  of  the  best 
typical  men  in  the  story  of  our  own  and  of  other  countries. 

The  use  of  the  best  historical  and  literary  works  as  a 
means  of  strengthening  moral  motives  and  principles 
with  children  whose  minds  and  characters  are  develop- 
ing, is  a  high  aim  in  itself.  And  it  will  add  interest  and 
life  to  the  formal  studies,  such  as  reading,  spelling, 
grammar,  and  composition,  which  spring  out  of  this  valu- 
able subject-matter. 

History,  in  the  broad  sense,  should  be  the  chief  con- 
stituent of  a  child's  education.  That  subject-matter 
which  contains  the  essence  of  moral  culture  in  generative 
form  deserves  to  constitute  the  chief  mental  food  of 
young  people.  The  conviction  of  the  high  moral  value 
of  historic  subjects  and  of  their  peculiar  adaptability  to 
children  at  different  ages,  brings  us  to  a  positive  judg- 
ment as  to  their  relative  value  among  studies.  The  first 
question,  preliminary  to  all  others  in  the  common  school 
course,  "What  is  the  most  important  study?"  is  an- 
swered by  putting  history  at  the  head  of  the  list. 

Nat^iral  science  takes  the  second  place.  In  many 
respects  it  is  co-ordinate  with  history.     The  object-world, 


THE   RELATIVE   VALUE.  37 

which  is  so  interesting,  so  informing,  and  so  intimately 
interwoven  with  the  needs,  labors,  and  progress  of  men, 
furnishes  the  second  great  constituent  of  education  for 
all  children.  Botany,  zoology,  and  the  other  natural  sci- 
ences, taken  as  a  unit,  constitute  the  field  of  nature 
apart  from  man.  They  furnish  us  an  understanding  of 
the  varied  objects  and  complex  phenomena  of  nature.  It 
is  one  of  the  imperative  needs  of  all  human  minds  that 
have  retained  their  childlike  thoughtfulness  and  spirit  of 
inquiry,  to  desire  to  understand  nature,  to  classify  the 
variety  of  objects  and  appearances,  to  trace  the  chain  of 
causes,  and  to  search  out  the  simple  laws  of  nature's 
operations.  The  command  early  came  to  men  to  subdue 
the  earth,  and  we  understand  better  than  primitive  man 
that  it  is  subdued  through  investigation  and  study.  All 
the  forces  and  bounties  of  nature  are  to  be  made  service- 
able to  us  and  it  can  only  be  done  by  understanding  her 
facts  and  laws.  The  road  to  mastery  leads  through 
patient  observation,  experiment,  and  study. 

But  we  are  concerned  with  the  educatio7ial  value  of 
the  natural  sciences.  Waitzsays:  "  A  correct  philosophy 
of  the  world  and  of  life  is  possible  to  a  person  only  on 
the  basis  of  a  knowledge  of  one's  self  and  of  one's  rela- 
tion to  surrounding  nature."  Diesterweg  says:  "No 
one  can  atTord  to  neglect  a  knowledge  of  nature  who 
desires  to  get  a  comprehension  of  the  world  and  of  God 
according  to  human  possibility,  or  who  desires  to  find  his 
proper  relation  to  Him  and  to  real  things.  He  who 
knows  nothing  of  human  history  is  an  ignoramus,  like- 
wise he  who  knows  nothing  of  natural  science.  To  know 
nothing  of  either  is  a  pure  shame.  Ignorance  of  nature 
is  an  unpardonable  perversion."  Kraepelin  speaks  as 
follows:   "Instruction  should  open  up  to  a  pupil  an  under- 


38  GENERAL   METHOD. 

standing  of  the  present,  and  thereby  furnish  a  ba^s  for 
a  frank  and  many-sided  philosophy  of  life,  resting  upon 
reality.  But  to  the  present  belongs  the  world  outside  of 
us.  Of  this  present  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  an 
understanding  unless  it  relates  not  only  to  inter-human 
relations  but  also  to  relations  of  man  to  animal,  of  ani- 
mal to  plant,  and  of  organic  life  to  inorganic  life.  The 
necessity  of  assuming  a  relation  to  our  environment  is 
unavoidable  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  acquainting 
ourselves  with  the  surrounding  world  in  every  direction. 
This  requirement  would  remain  in  force  though  man, 
like  a  god,  were  set  above  nature  and  her  laws.  But 
man  lives,  acts,  and  dies  not  outside  of,  but  within  the 
circle  of  nature's  laws.  This  maxim  is  axiomatic  and 
contains  the  final  judgment  against  those  who  claim  that 
a  comprehensive  but  unified  philosophy  of  life  is  possible 
without  a  knowledge  of  nature."  Herbart  says:  -'Here 
('i-n  nature)  lies  the  abode  of  real  truth,  which  does  not 
retreat  before  tests  into  an  inaccessible  past  (as  does  his- 
tory). This  genuinely  empirical  character  distinguishes 
the  natural  sciences  and  makes  their  loss  irretrievable. 
It  is  here  (in  nature)  that  the  object  disentangles  itself 
from  all  fancies  and  opinions  and  constantly  stimulates 
the  spirit  of  observation.  Here  then  is  found  an  obstruc- 
tion to  extravagant  thinking  such  as  the  sciences  them 
selves  could  not  better  devise."  Ziller  says:  "The 
natural  sciences  are  necessary  in  education  because  from 
the  province  of  nature  (as  well  as  from  history)  are 
derived  those  means  and  resources  which  are  necessary 
to  accomplish  the  purposes  of  the  will  in  action.  Means 
and  forces  are  the  natural  conditions  for  the  realization 
of  aims  Without  knowledge  of  and  intelligent  power 
over  nature,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  certain  aims  are 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  39 

possible;  action  cannot  be  successful;  will  effort,  based 
upon  the  firm  conviction  of  ability,  that  is,  judicious  ex- 
ercise of  will,  is  impossible."  We  quote  also  from  Pro- 
fessor Rein:  '-Let  us  observe  in  passing  that  in  the 
great  industrial  contest  between  civilized  nations,  that 
people  will  suffer  defeat  which  falls  behind  in  the  culture 
of  natural  science,  and  for  this  reason  the  motive  of  self- 
protection  would  deniand  natural  science  instruction.  In 
favor  of  this  teaching,  the  claim  is  further  made  that  no 
science  is  so  well  adapted  to  train  the  mind  to  inductive 
thought  processes  as  that  which  rests  entirely  upon  in- 
duction, and  that  natural  science  study  is  in  a  position  to 
resist  more  easily  and  successfully  than  all  other  studies, 
the  deeply-rooted  tendency  in  all  branches  to  substitute 
words  for  ideas." 

Rein  (das  vierte  Schuljahr)  explains  further  the  lead- 
ing Ideas  and  standpoints  which  have  appeared  in  his- 
torical order  among  science  teachers  in  the  common 
school.  From  the  first  crude  ideas  there  has  been  marked 
progress  toward  higher  aims  in  science  teaching. 

1.  Natural  history  stories  for  eyitertainmeyU.  Many 
curious  and  entertaining  facts  in  connection  with  animal 
life  were  searched  out,  more  especially  unusual  and  spicy 
anecdotes  of  shrewdness  and  intelligence.  Some  of  the 
old  readers,  and  even  of  the  recent  ones,  are  en- 
riched with  such  marvels. 

2.  Utility,  or  the  study  of  things  in  nature  that  are 
directly  useful  or  hurtful  to  man.  Whatever  fruits  or 
animals  or  herbs  are  of  plain  service  to  man.  as  well  as 
things  poisonous  or  dangerous,  were  studied  because  such 
information  would  be  of  future  service.  It  was  a  purely 
practical  aim,  at  first  very  narrow,  but  in  an  enlarged 
and  liberal  sense  of  much  importance. 


40  GENERAL   METHOD. 

3.  Training  of  the  senses  and  of  the  observing  power. 
By  a  study  and  description  of  natural  objects,  sense  per- 
ception was  to  be  sharpened  and  a  habit  of  close  obser- 
vation formed.  Among  science  teachers  today  no  aim  is 
more  emphasized  than  this.  It  also  stores  away  a  body 
of  useful  ideas  of  great  future  value.  This  is  an  intel- 
lectual aim  that  accords  better  with  the  purpose  of  the 
school  than  the  preceding. 

4.  Analysis  and  determination  of  specimens.  To  ex- 
amine and  trace  a  plant,  mineral,  or  insect,  to  its  true 
classification  and  name,  has  occupied  much  of  the  time  of 
students.  It  requires  nice  discrimination,  a  comprehen- 
sive grasp  of  relations,  and  a  power  to  seize  and  hold 
common  characteristics.  Many  of  our  text-books  and 
courses  of  study  are  based  chiefly  upon  this  idea. 

5.  System,-makiny,  or  the  reduction  of  all  things  in 
nature  to  a  systematic  whole,  with  a  place  for  everything. 
Some  of  the  greatest  scientists,  Linnaeus,  for  example, 
looked  upon  scientific  classification  as  the  chief  aim  of 
nature  study.  It  has  had  a  great  influence  upon  schools 
and  teachers.  The  attempt  to  compress  everything  into 
a  system  has  led  to  many  text-books  which  are  but  brief 
summaries  of  sciences  like  zoology,  botany,  and  physics. 
Scientific  classification  is  very  important,  but  the  attempt 
to  make  it  a  leading  aim  in  teaching  children  is  a  mistake. 

We  may  add  that  nature  study  is  felt  by  all  to  offer 
abundant  scope  to  the  exercise  of  the  esthetic  faculty. 
There  is  great  variety  of  beauty  and  gracefulness  in  nat- 
uraljorms  in  plant  and  animal;  the  rich  or  delicate  col- 
oring of  the  clouds,  of  birds,  of  insects,  and  of  plants, 
gives  constant  pleasure.  Then  there  are  grand  and  im- 
pressive scenery  and  phenomena  in  nature,  and  melody 
and  harm©Hy  in  nature's  voices. 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  41 

These  various  aims  of  science  study  are  valuable  to 
the  teacher  as  showing  him  the  scope  of  his  work.  But 
a  higher  and  more  comprehensive  standpoint  has  been 
reached.  We  now  realize  that  the  great  purpose  of  this 
study  is  insight  into  nature,  into  this  whole  physical  en- 
vironment, with  a  view  to  a  better  appreciation  of  her 
objects,  forces,  and  laws,  and  of  their  bearing  on  human 
life  and  progress. 

All  these  purposes  thus  far  developed  in  schools 
are  to  oe  considered  as  valuable  subsidiary  aims, 
leading  up  to  the  central  purpose  of  the  study  of 
natural  sciences,  which  is,  "An  understanding  of  life  and 
of  the  powers  and  of  the  unity  which  express  themselves 
in  nature;"  or,  as  Kraepelin  says:  "Nature  should  not 
appear  to  man  as  an  inextricable  chaos,  but  as  a  well- 
ordered  mechanism,  the  parts  fitting  exactly  to  each 
other,  controlled  by  unchanging  laws,  and  in  perpetual 
action  and  production."  Humboldt  is  further  quoted: 
"Nature  to  the  mature  mind  is  unity  in  variety,  unity  of 
the  manifold  in  form  and  combination,  the  content  or 
sum  total  of  natural  things  and  natural  forces  as  a  living 
whole  The  weightiest  result,  therefore,  of  deep  phys- 
ical study  is,  by  beginning  with  the  individual,  to  grasp 
all  that  the  discoveries  of  recent  times  reveal  to  us,  to 
separate  single  things  critically  and  yet  not  be  overcome 
by  the  mass  of  details,  mindful  of  the  high  destiny  of 
man,  to  comprehend  the  mind  of  nature,  which  lies  con- 
cealed under  the  mantle  of  phenomena."  This  sounds 
visionary  and  impracticable  for  children  of  the  common 
school,  especially  when  we  know  that  much  lower  aims 
have  not  been  successfully  reached.  In  fact  it  cannot  be 
said  that  the  natural  sciences  have  any  recognized  stand- 
ing in  the  common  school  course.     But  it  is  worth   the 


42  GENERAL   METHOD. 

while  to  inquire  whether  natural  sciences  will  ever  be 
taught  as  they  should  be  until  the  best  attainable  aims 
become  the  dominant  principles  for  guiding  teachers. 
Stripped  of  its  rhetoric,  the  above  mentioned  aim,  "an 
understanding  of  life  and  of  the  unity  in  nature,"  may 
prove  a  practical  and  inspiring  guide  to  the  teacher. 

If  we  look  upon  nature  as  a  field  of  observation  and 
study  which  can  be  grasped  as  a  whole  both  as  a  work 
of  creation  and  as  contributing  in  multiplied  ways  to 
man's  needs,  its  proper  study  gives  a  many-sided  culture 
to  the  mind.  This  leading  purpose  will  bring  into  rela- 
tion and  unity  all  the  subordinate  aims  of  science  teach- 
ing, such  as  information,  utility,  training  of  the  senses 
and  judgment,  and  of  the  power  to  compare  and  classify. 

For  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  purpose  of  gain- 
ing insight  into  nature's  many-sided  activities,  there  are 
several  simple  means  not  yet  mentioned.  Running 
through  nature  are  great  principles  and  laws  which  can 
be  studied  upon  concrete  examples,  plain  and  interesting 
to  a  child.  The  study  of  the  squirrel  in  its  home,  hab- 
its, organs,  and  natural  activities  in  the  woods,  will  show 
how  strangely  adapted  it  is  to  its  surroundings.  But 
an  observation  of  birds  in  the  air  and  of  fishes  in  water 
reveals  the  same  curious  fitness  to  surrounding  nature. 
The  study  of  plants  and  animals  in  their  adaptation 
to  environment,  of  the  relation  between  organ  and  func- 
tion; between  organs,  mode  of  life,  and  environment, 
leads  up  to  a  general  law  which  applies  to  all  plants  and 
animals.  The  law  of  growth  and  development  from  the 
simple  germ  to  the  mature  life  form  can  be  seen  in  the 
butterfly,  the  frog,  and  the  sunflower.  These  laws  and 
others  in  biology,  if  developed  on  concrete  specimens, 
give  much  insight  into  the  whole  realm  of  nature,  more 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  43 

stimulating  by  far  than  that  based  on  scientific  classifica- 
tions, as  orders,  families  and  species.  The  great  and 
simple  outlines  of  nature's  work  begin  to  appear  out  of 
such  laws. 

Again  the  study  of  the  whole  life  history  of  a  plant  or 
animal,  in  its  relations  to  the  inorganic  world  and  to 
other  plants  and  animals,  is  always  a  cross-section  in  the 
sciences  and  shows  how  all  the  natural  sciences  are  knit 
together  into  a  causal  unity.  Take  the  life  history  of  a 
hickory  tree.  As  it  germinates  and  grows  from  the  seed 
how  it  draws  from  the  earth  and  air;  the  effect  of  storms, 
seasons,  and  lightning  upon  it;  how  it  later  furnishes 
nuts  to  the  squirrels  and  boys;  its  branches  may  be  the 
nesting  place  for  birds  and  its  bark  for  insects.  Finally, 
the  uses  of  its  tough  wood  for  man  are  seen.  The  life  of 
a  squirrel  or  of  a  honey-bee  furnishes  also  a  cross-section 
through  all  the  sciences  from  the  inorganic  world  up  to 
man. 

If  in  tracing  life  histories  we  take  care  to  select  typi- 
cal subjects  which  exemplify  perhaps  thousands  of  simi- 
lar cases,  we  shall  materially  shorten  the  road  leading 
toward  insight  into  nature.  These  types  are  concrete 
and  have  all  the  interest  and  attractiveness  of  individual 
life,  but  they  also  bring  out  characteristics  which  explain 
myriads  of  similar  phenomena.  A  careful  and  detailed 
study  of  a  single  tree  like  the  maple,  with  the  circulation 
of  the  sap  and  the  function  of  roots,  bark,  leaves,  and 
woody  fiber,  will  give  an  insight  into  the  processes  of 
growth  upon  which  the  life  of  the  tree  depends  and  these 
processes  will  easily  appear  to  be  true  of  all  tree  ^nd 
plant  forms. 

In  nature  as  it  shows  itself  in  the  woods  or  in  the 
pond,  there  is  such  a  miixgling  and  interdependence  of 


44  GENERAL  METHOD. 

the  natural  sciences  upon  each  other  that  the  book  of 
nature  seems  totally  different  from  books  of  botany, 
physics,  and  zoology  as  made  by  men.  In  the  forest  we 
find  close  together  trees  of  many  kinds,  shrubs,  flower- 
ing plants,  vines,  mosses,  and  ferns;  grasses,  beetles, 
worms,  and  birds;  ^ squirrels,  owls  and  sunshine;  rocks, 
soil,  and  springs;  summer  and  winter;  storms,  frost,  and 
drouth.  Plants  depend  upon  the  soil  and  upon  each 
other.  The  birds  and  squirrels  find  their  home  and  food 
among  the  trees  and  plants.  The  trees  seem  to  grow 
together  as  if  they  needed  each  other's  companionship. 
All  the  plants  and  animals  depend  upon  the  soil,  air,  and 
climate,  and  the  whole  wood  changes. its  garb  and  partly 
Its  guests  with  the  seasons.  A  forest  is  a  life  society^ 
consisting  of  mutually  dependent  parts.  How  nature  dis- 
regards our  conventional  distinctions  between  the  natural 
sciences  !  We  need  no  better  proof  than  this  that  they 
should  not  be  taught  chiefly  from  books.  A  child  might 
learn  a  myriad  of  things  in  the  woods  and  gain  much 
insight  into  nature's  ways  without  making  any  clear  dis- 
tinction between  botany,  zoology,  and  geology.  Herein 
is  also  the  proof  that  text-books  are  needed  as'  a  guide  in 
nature's  labyrinth.  If  the  frequency  and  intimacy  of 
mutual  relations  are  any  proof  of  unity,  the  natural  sci- 
ences  are  a  unit  and  have  a  right  to  be  called  by  one 
name,  nature  stud)/. 

In  the  study  of  laws,  life  histories,  and  life  groups, 
the  causal  relations  in  nature  are  found  to  be  wonderfully 
stimulating  to  those  who  have  begun  to  trace  them  out. 
The  child  as  well  as  the  mature  scientist  finds  in  these 
causal  connections  materials  of  absorbing  interest. 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  lines  tending  toward 
unity  in  nature  study  are  numerous  and  strong;  such  as 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  4S 

the  scientific  classificatioas  of  our  text-books,  the  work- 
ing out  of  general  laws  whether  in  biology  or  physics, 
the  study  of  life  histories  in  vegetable  and  animal,  and 
the  observation  of  life  societies  in  the  close  mutual  rela- 
tions of  the  different  parts  or  individuals. 

If  a  course  of  nature  studies  is  begun  in  the  first  grade 
and  carried  systematically  through  all  the  years  up  to  the 
eighth  grade,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  real 
insight  into  nature,  based  on  observation  taken  at  first 
hand,  may  be  reached?  It  will  involve  a  study  of  living 
plants  and  animals,  minerals,  physical  apparatus  and 
devices,  chemical  experiments,  the  making  of  collections, 
regular  excursions  for  the  observation  of  the  neighboring 
fields,  forests,  and  streams,  and  the  working  over  of  these 
and  other  concrete  experiences  from  all  sources  through 
skillful  class  teaching. 

The  first  great  result  to  a  child  of  such  a  series  of 
studies  is  an  intelligent  and  rational  understanding  of  his 
home,  the  world,  his  natural  environment.  He  will  have 
a  seeing  eye  and  an  appreciative  mind  for  the  thousand 
things  surrounding  his  daily  life  where  the  ignorant  toiler 
sees  and  understands  nothing. 

A  second  advantage  which  we  can  only  hint  at,  while 
incidental  is  almost  equally  important.  We  have  been 
considering  nature  chiefly  as  a  realm  by  itself,  apart 
from  man.  But  the  utilities  of  natural  science  in  indi. 
vidual  life  and  in  society  are  so  manifold  that  we  accept 
many  of  the  finest  products  of  skill  and  art  as  if  they 
were  natural  products — as  if  gold  coins,  silk  dresses,  and 
fine  pictures  grew  on  the  bushes  and  only  waited  to  be 
picked.  The  thousand-fold  applications  of  natural  science 
to  human  industry  and  comfort  deserve  to  be  perceived 
as    the  result   oj^   labor   and  inventive  skill.     Our  much- 


4«  GENERAL  METHOD. 

lauded  steam  engines,  telegraph  microscopes,  sewing 
machines,  reapers,  iron  ships,  and  printing  presses,  are 
not  examples  of  a  few,  but  of  myriads  of  things  that 
natural  science  has  secured.  But  how  many  children  on 
leaving  the  common  school  understand  the  principle  in- 
volved in  any  one  of  the  machines  mentioned,  subjects  of 
common  talk  as  they  are?  As  children  leave  the  schools 
at  fourteen  or  fifteen  they  should  know  and  appreciate 
many  such  things,  wherein  man,  by  his  wit  and  ingenious 
use  of  natures  forces,  has  triumphed  over  difficulties. 
How  are  glass  and  soap  made?  What  has  a  knowledge  of 
natural  science  to  do  with  the  construction  of  stoves, 
furnaces,  and  lamps?  How  are  iron,  silver,  and  copper 
ore  mined  and  reduced?  How  is  sugar  obtained  from 
maple  trees,  cane,  and  beet  root?  How  does  a  suction 
pump  work  and  why?  Without  a  knowledge  of  such 
applications  of  natural  science  we  should  be  thrown  back 
into  barbarism.  These  things  also,  since  they  form  such 
an  important  part  of  every  child's  environment,  should 
be  understood,  but  not  for  direct  utility. 

Historically  considered,  the  study  of  natural  science 
is  the  study  of  man's  long  continued  struggle  with  nature 
and  of  his  gradual  triumph.  It  ends  with  insight  into 
nature  and  into  those  contrivances  of  men  by  which  her 
laws  and  forces  are  utilized.  The  whole  subject  of  nature, 
her  laws  and  powers,  must  not  remain  a  sealed  book  to 
the  masses  of  the  people.  Scientists,  inventors,  and 
scholars  may  lead  the  way,  but  they  are  only  pioneers. 
The  thousands  of  the  children  of  the  people  are  treading 
at  their  heels  and  must  be  initiated  into  the  mysteries. 

Our  knowledge  of  these  principles  and  appliances  con- 
stitute in  fact  a  good  share  of  the  foundation  upon  which 
our  whole  culture  status  rests.      Without  natural  science 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  47 

we  should  understand  neither  nature  nor  society.  Spen- 
cer shows  the  wide-reaching  value  of  science  knowledge 
in  our  modern  life:  "For  leaving  out  only  some  very 
small  classes,  what  are  all  men  employed  in?  They  are 
employed  in  the  production,  preparation,  and  distribu- 
tion of  commodities.  And  on  what  does  efficiency  in  the 
production,  preparation,  and  distribution  of  commodities 
depend?  It  depends  on  the  use  of  methods  fitted  to  the 
respective  nature  of  these  commodities,  it  depends  on  an 
adequate  knowledge  of  their  physical,  chemical,  or  vital 
properties,  as  the  case  may  be;  that  is,  it  depends  on 
science.  This  order  of  knowledge  which  is  in  great  part 
ignored  in  our  school  courses,  is  the  order  of  knowledge 
underlying  the  right  performance  of  all  those  processes 
by  which  civilized  life  is  made  possible.  Undeniable  as 
is  this  truth,  and  thrust  upon  us  as  it  is  at  every  turn, 
there  seems  to  be  no  living  consciousness  of  it.  Its  very 
familiarity  makes  it  unregarded.  To  give  due  weight  to 
our  argument,  we  must  therefore  realize. this  truth  to  the 
reader  by  a  rapid  review  of  the  facts."  He  then  illus- 
trates, in  interesting  detail,  the  varied  applications  of 
mathematics,  physics,  chemistry,  biology,  and  social  sci- 
ence to  the  industries  and  economies  of  real  life,  and  con- 
cludes as  follows:  "That  which  our  school  courses  leave 
almost  entirely  out,  we  thus  find  to  be  that  which  most 
nearly  concerns  the  business  of  life.  All  our  industries 
would  cease  were  it  not  for  that  information  which  men 
begin  to  acquire  as  they  best  may  after  their  education 
is  said  to  be  finished.  And  were  it  not  for  this  informa- 
tion that  has  been  from  age  to  age  accumulated  and 
spread  by  unofficial  means,  these  industries  would  never 
have  existed.  Had  there  been  no  teaching  but  such  as 
is  given  in  our  public  schools,  England   would  now  be 


48  GENERAL    METHOD. 

what  it  was  in  feudal  times.  That  increasing  acquaint- 
ance  with  the  laws  of  nature  which  has  through  succes- 
sive ages  enabled  us  to  subjugate  nature  to  our  needs, 
and  in  these  days  gives  to  the  common  laborer  comforts 
which  a  few  centuries  ago  kings  could  not  purchase,  is 
scarcely  in  any  degree  owed  to  the  appointed  means  of 
instructing  our  youth.  The  vital  knowledge — that  by 
which  we  have  grown  as  a  nation  to  what  we  are,  and 
which  now  underlies  our  whole  existence — is  a  knowledge 
that  has  got  itself  taught  in  nooks  and  corners,  while  the 
ordained  agencies  for  teaching  have  been  mumbling  little 
else  but  dead  formulas."     Spencer,  Education,  pp.  44,  54. 

Not  only  the  specialists  in  natural  science,  whose 
interest  and  enthusiasm  are  largely  absorbed  in  these 
studies,  but  many  other  energetic  teachers  are  persuaded 
that  thFlBulture  value  of  nature  studies  is  on  a  par  with 
that  of  historical  studies.  But  on  account  of  the  present 
lack  of  system  and  of  clear  purpose  in  natural  science 
teachers,  the  first  great  problem  in  this  field  of  common 
school  effort  is  to  select  the  material  and  perfect  the 
method  of  studying  nature  with  children. 

Our  estimate  of  the  value  of  natural  science  for  cult- 
ure and  for  discipline  is  confirmed  by  the  opinion  of  edu- 
cational reformers  and  by  the  changes  and  progress  in 
schools.  An  inquiry  into  the  history  of  education  in 
Europe  and  in  America  since  the  Reformation  will  show 
that  the  movement  towards  nature  study  has  been  accu- 
mulating momentum  for  more  than  three  hundred  years. 
Tn  spite  of  the  failure  of  such  men  as  Comeuius,  Ratich, 
Basedow,  and  Rousseau  to  secure  the  introduction  of 
these  studies  in  a  liberal  degree,  in  spite  of  the  enormous 
influence  of  custom  and  prejudice  in  favor  of  Latin  and 
other  traditional  studies,  the  natural  srciences  have  made 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  49 

recently  such  surprising  advances  and  have  so  penetrated 
and  transformed  our  modern  life  that  we  are  simply  com- 
pelled, even  in  the  common  school,  to  take  heed  of  these 
great,  living  educational  forces  already  at  work. 

The  universities  of  England  and  of  the  United  States 
have  been  largely  transformed  within  the  last  forty  years 
by  the  introduction,  on  a  grand  scale,  of  modern  studies, 
particularly  of  the  natural  sciences.  The  fitting  schools, 
academies,  and  high  schools  have  had  no  choice  but  to  fol- 
low this  lead.  Since  the  forces  that  produced  this  result 
in  higher  education  sprang  up  largely  outside  of  our  in- 
stitutions of  learning,  the  movement  is  not  likely  to 
cease  till  the  common  school  has  been  changed  in  the 
same  way.  The  educational  question  of  the  future  is  not 
whether  historical  or  natural  science  or  formal  studies 
are  to  monopolize  the  school  course,  but  rather  how  these 
three  indispensable  elements  of  every  child's  education 
may  be  best  harmonized  and  wrought  into  a  unit. 
/  But  the  question  that  confronts  us  at  every  turn  is, 
What  is  the  disciplinary  value  of  nature  study?'  We 
know,  say  the  opponents,  what  a  vigorous  training  in 
ancient  languages  and  mathematics  can  do  for  a  student. 
What  results  in  this  direction  can  the  natural  sciences 
tabulate?  The  champions  of  natural  science  point  with 
pride  to  the  great  men  who  have  been  trained  and  devel- 
oped in  such  studies.  For  inductive  thinking  the  natural 
sciences  otTer  the  best  materials.  To  cultivate  self-reli- 
ance there  is  nothing  like  turning  a  student  loose  in 
nature  under  a  skilled  instructor.  The  spirit  of  investi- 
gation and  of  accurate  thinking  is  claimed  as  a  peculiar 
product  of  nature  study.  It  is  called,  par  excellence, 
"the  scientific  spirit."  The  undue  reverence  for  au- 
thority produced  by  literary  studies  is  not  a  weakness  of 


50  GENERAL   METHOD. 

natural  science  pursuits.  But  intense  interest  and  devo- 
tion are  combined  with  scientific  accuracy  and  fidelity  to 
nature  and  her  laws. 

We  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  attempt  a  settlement  of 
this  dispute.  We  have  already  assumed  that  history  in 
the  broad  sense  (including  languages)  and  natural  science 
(or  nature  study)  are  the  two  great  staples  of  the  com- 
mon school  course,  and  that  so  far  as  discipline  is  con- 
cerned one  is  as  important  as  the  other.  But  we  tfelieve 
that  those  educators  whose  first,  middle,  and  last  question 
in  education  is,  "What  is  the  disciplinary  value  of  a 
study?"  have  mistaken  the  primary  problem  of  educa- 
tion. Just  as  in  the  proper  training  of  the  body,  the 
strength  and  skill  of  a  professional  athlete  are,  in  no 
sense,  the  true  aim,  but  physical  soundness,  health,  and 
vigor;  so  in  mind  culture,  not  extraordinary  skill  in  men- 
tal gymnastics  of  the  severest  sort,  is  the  essential  aim, 
but  mental  soundness,  integrity,  and  motive.  The  under- 
lying question  in  education  is  not.  How  strong  or  incisive 
is  his  .mind?  (This  depends  largely  upon  heredity  and  na- 
tive endowment)  but,  What  is  its  quality  and  its  temper? 
If  might  is  right,  then  mental  strength  is  to  be  gained 
at  all  hazards.  But  if  right  is  higher  than  might,  then 
mental  skill  and  power  are  only  secondary  aims.  So 
long  as  we  are  dealing  with  fundamental  aims  in  such  a 
serious  business  as  education,  why  stop  short  of  that 
ideal  which  is  manifestly  the  best?  We  have  no  contro- 
versy with  the  highest  mental  discipline  and  strength 
that  are  consistent  with  all-round  mental  soundness. 
Our  better  teachers  are  not  lacking  in  appreciation  for 
the  value  of  what  is  called  formal  mental  discipline,  but 
they  do  generally  lack  faith  in  the  innate  power  of  the 
best  studies  to  arouse  interest  and  mental   life.     They 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  51 

emphasize  the  drill  more  than  the  co)itent  and  the  iuspira- 
tion  of  the  author.  Both  in  theory  and  in  practice  they 
are  greatly  lacking  in  the  intellectual  sympathy  and 
moral  power  which  result  from  bringing  the  minds  of 
students  into  direct  contact  with  the  noblest  products  of 
God's  work  in  history  and  in  the  object  world.  Here  we 
can  put  our  finger  on  the  radical  weakness  of  our  school 
work. 

The  really  soul-inspiring  teachers  have  not  been 
formalists  nor  drill-masters  alone.  Friedrich  August 
Wolf,  for  example,  the  great  German  philologist,  was 
probably  the  most  inspiring  teacher  of  classical  lan- 
guages that  Germany  has  had.  But  to  what  was  his 
remarkable  infliuence  as  a  teacher  of  young  men  due? 
.We  usually  think  of  a  philologist  as  one  who  digs  among 
the  roots  of  dead  languages,  who  worships  the  forms  of 
speech  and  the  laws  of  grammar.  Doubtless  he  and  his 
pupils  were  much  taken  up  with  these  things,  but  they 
were  not  the  prime  source  of  his  and  their  interest. 
Wolf  defined  philology  as  "the  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture as  exhibited  in  antiquity."  He  studied  with  great 
avidity  everything  that  could  throw  light  upon  the  lives, 
character,  and  language  of  the  ancients.  Their  biogra- 
phies, histories,  geography,  climate,  dress,  implements, 
their  sculpture,  monuments,  buildings,  tombs.  Ap- 
proaching the  literature  and  language  of  the  Greeks  with 
this  abundant  knowledge  of  their  real  surroundings  and 
conditions  of  life,  he  saw  the  deeper,  fuller  significance 
of  every  classical  author  and  the  great  literary  master- 
pieces were  perceived  as  the  expression  of  the  national 
life.  He  appreciated  language  as  the  wonderful  medium 
through  which  the  more  wonderful  life  of  the  versatile 
Greek  expressed  itself.     The  reason  he  was  such  a  great 


r.2  GENERAL  METHOD. 

j)hilologist  was  because  he  was  so  great  a  realist,  a  raan 
who  was  intensely  interested  in  the  Greek  people,  their 
history  and  life.  Words  alone  had  little  charm  for  him. 
No  great  teacher  has  been  simply  a  word-monger. 

For  the  present  we  leave  the  question  of  discipline 
unanswered,  though  we  are  disposed  to  think  that  those 
studies  which  introduce  children  to  the  two  great  fields 
of  real  knowledge,  and  which  arouse  a  strong  desire  to 
solve  the  problems  found  there,  will  also  furnish  the  most 
valuable  discipline. 

Tho/i>7-m(d  studies  such  as  reading,  spelling,  writing, 
language,  and  much  of  arithmetic,  have  thus  far  appro- 
priated the  best  share  of  school  time.  They  are  the  tools 
for  acquiring  and  formulating  knowledge  rather  than 
knowledge  itself.  They  are  so  indispensable  in  life  that 
people  have  acquired  a  sort  of  superstitious  respect  for 
them.  They  are  generally  considered  as  of  primary  im- 
portance while  other  things  are  taken  as  secondary.  By 
virtue  of  this  excessive  estimation  the  formal  studies 
have  become  so  strongly  intrenched  in  the  practice  of  the 
schools  that  they  are  really  a  heavy  obstacle  to  educa- 
tional progress.  They  have  been  so  long  regarded  as 
the  only  gateway  to  knowledge  that  anyone  who  tries  to 
climb  in  some  other  way  is  regarded  as  a  thief  and  rob- 
ber. We  forget  that  Homer's  great  poems  were  com- 
posed and  preserved  for  centuries  before  letters  were  in- 
vented. As  more  thought  is  expended  on  studies  and 
methods  of  learning,  the  more  the  thinkers  are  inclined 
to  exactly  reverse  the  educational  machinery.  They  say: 
••Thought  studies  must  precede  form  studies."  We 
should  everywhere  begin  with  valuable  and  interesting 
thought  materials  in  history  and  natural  science  and  let 
language,  reading,  spelling,  and  drawing  follow.     It  is  a 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  53 

thing  much  more  easily  said  than  done,  but  many  active 
teachers  are  really  doing  it,  and  many  others  are  wonder- 
ing how  it  may  be  done.  The  advantage  of  putting  the 
concrete  realities  of  thought  before  children  at  first 
is  that  they  give  a  powerful  impetus  to  mental  life,  while 
pure  formal  studies  in  most  cases  have  a  deadening  effect 
and  gradually  put  a  child  to  sleep.  One  of  the  great 
problems  of  school  work  is  how  to  get  more  interest  and 
instructive  thought  into  school  exercises. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  give  a  concluding  esti- 
mate upon  the  relative  value  of  these  three  elements  in 
school  education.  History  contributes  the  materials 
from  which  motives  and  moral  impulses  spring.  It  culti- 
vates and  strengthens  moral  convictions  by  the  use  of 
inspiring  examples.  The  character  of  each  child  should 
be  drawn  into  harmony  with  the  highest  impulses  that 
men  have  felt.  A  desire  to  be  the  author  of  good  to 
others  should  be  developed  into  a  practical  ruling  motive. 
Natural  science  on  the  other  hand  supplies  a  knowledge 
of  the  ordinary  means  and  appliances  by  which  the  pur- 
poses of  life  are  realized.  It  gives  us  proper  insight 
into  the  conditions  of  life  and  puts  us  into  intelligent 
relation  to  our  envii'onment.  Not  only  must  a  child  be 
supplied  with  the  necessaries  of  life  but  he  must  appreci- 
ate the  needs  of  health  and  understand  the  economies  of 
society,  such  as  the  necessity  of  mental  and  manual 
labor,  the  right  use  of  the  products  and  forces  of  nature, 
and  the  advantage  of  men's  inventions  and  devices.  In 
a  plan  of  popular  education  these  two  culture  elements 
should  mingle  (history  and  natural  science).  In  the 
case  of  all  sorts  of  people  in  society  the  ability  to  exe- 
cute high  moral  purposes  depends  largely  upon  a  ready, 
practical    insight    into   natural  conditions.      We   are   ncl 


54  GENERAL  METHOD. 

thinking  of  the  bread-and-butter  phase  of  life  and  of  the 
aid  afforded  by  the  sciences  in  making  a  living,  but  of 
the  all-round,  practical  utility  of  natural  science  as  a 
necessary  supplenaent  to  moral  training. 

One  of  the  best  tests  of  a  system  of  education  is  the 
preparation  it  gives  for  life  in  a  liberal  sense.  When  a 
child,  leaving  school  behind,  develops  into  a  citizen, 
what  tests  are  applied  to  him?  The  questions  submitted 
to  his  judgment  in  his  relations  to  the  family  and  to 
society  call  for  a  quick  and  varied  knowledge  of  men, 
insight  into  character,  and  for  a  large  amount  of  prac- 
tical information  of  natural  science.  He  is  asked  to  vote 
intelligently  on  social,  political,  sanitary,  and  economic 
questions;  to  judge  of  men's  motives,  opinions,  and  char- 
acter; to  vote  upon  or  perhaps  to  direct  the  management 
of  poor  houses,  asylums,  and  penitentiaries;  in  towns  to 
decide  questions  of  drainage,  police,  water  supply, public 
health,  and  school  administration;  to  make  contracts  for 
public  buildings,  and  bridges;  to  grant  licenses  and  fran- 
chises; to  serve  on  juries  or  as  representatives  of  the 
people.  These  are  not  professional  matters  alone;  they 
are  the  common  duties  of  all  citizens  of  a  sound  mind. 
These  things  each  person  should  know  how  to  judge^ 
whether  he  be  a  blacksmith,  a  merchant,  or  a  house 
keeper.  In  all  such  matters  he  must  be  not  only  a 
judge  of  others  but  an  actor  under  the  guidance  of  right 
motives  and  information.  Again,  in  the  bringing  up  of 
children,  in  the  domestic  arrangements  of  every  home 
and  in  a  proper  care  for  the  minds  and  bodies  of  both 
parents  and  children,  a  multitude  of  practical  problems 
from  each  of  the  great  fields  of  real  knowledge  must  be 
met  and  solved. 

A  medical  missionary  illustrates  this  combination  of 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  .  55 

historical  and  natural  science  elements.  His  life  purpose 
is  drawn  from  history,  from  the  life  of  Christ,  and  from 
the  traditional  incentives  of  the  church.  The  means  by 
which  he  is  to  make  himself  practically  felt  are  obtained 
from  his  study  of  medicine  and  from  the  sciences  upon 
which  it  depends.  These  elements  form  the  basis  of  his 
influence.  This  illustration  however  savors  of  profes- 
sional rather  than  of  general  education,  and  we  are  con- 
cerned only  with  the  latter.  But  the  education  of  every 
child  is  analogous  to  that  of  the  medical  missionary  in  its 
two  constituent  elements. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  neither  history  nor  natural  science 
occupies  any  such  prominence  in  the  school  course  as  we 
have  judged  fitting.  Much  thoughtful  study,  experience 
in  teaching,  and  pioneer  labor  in  partially  new  fields  will 
be  necessary  in  order  to  bring  into  existence  such  a  course 
of  study  based  upon  the  best  materials.  Many  teachers 
already  recognize  the  necessity  for  it  and  see  before  them 
a  land  of  plenty  as  compared  with  the  half-desert  barren- 
ness revealed  in  our  present  school  course. 

Two  powerful  convictions  in  the  minds  of  those  re- 
sponsible for  education  have  contributed  to  produce  this 
desert-like  condition  in  children's  school  employments, 
and  this  brings  us  to  a  discussion  of  the  overestimation 
in  which  ipure\y  formal  studies  are  held.  The  first  article 
of  faith  rests  upon  the  unshaken  belief  in  the  practical 
sticdiex,  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  They  are  still 
looked  upon  as  a  barrier  that  must  be  scaled  before  the 
real  work  of  education  can  begin.  Learn  to  read,  write, 
and  figure  and  then  the  world  of  knowledge  as  well  as  of 
business  is  at  your  command.  But  many  children  find 
the  bari-ier  so  difficult  to  scale  that  they  really  never  get 
into  the  fields  of  knowledge.     Many  of  our  most  thorough- 


56  .  GENERAL    METHOD. 

going  educators  still  firmly  believe  that  a  child  can  not 
learn  anything  worth  mentioning  till  he  has  first  learned 
to  read.  But  however  deeply  rooted  this  confidence  in 
the  purely  formal  work  of  the  early  school  years  may  be, 
it  must  break  down  as  soon  as  means  are  deviled  for 
putting  the  realities  of  interesting  knowledge  before  and 
underneath  all  the  forms  of  expression.  Let  the  neces- 
sity for  expression  spring  from  the  real  objects  of  study. 
Those  children  to  whom  the  memorizing  and  drill  upon 
forms  of  expression  becomes  tedious  deserve  our  sym- 
pathy. There  is  a  kind  of  knowledge  adapted  to  arouse 
these  dull  ones  to  their  full  capacity  of  interest.  '-Or 
what  man  is  there  of  you  whom  if  his  son  ask  bread  will 
he  give  him  a  stone  ?"  With  many  a  child  the  first  reader, 
the  arithmetic,  or  the  grammar  becomes  a  veritable  stone. 
There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  sole  burden  of  work  in 
early  school  grades  should  rest  upon  the  learning  of  the 
pure  formalities  of  knowledge.  Children's  minds  are  not 
adapted  to  an  exclusive  diet  of  this  kind.  The  fact  that 
children  have  good  memories  is  no  reason  why  their 
minds  should  be  gorged  with  the  dryest  memory  mate- 
rials. They  have  a  healthy  interest  in  people,  whether  in 
life  or  in  story,  and  in  the  objects  in  nature  around  them. 
What  is  thus  pre-eminently  true  of  the  primary  grades  is 
true  to  a  large  extent  throughout  all  the  grades  of  the 
common  school.  It  seems  almost  curious  that  the  more 
tender  the  plants  the  more  barren  and  inhospitable  the 
soil  upon  which  they  are  expected  to  grow.  Fortunately 
these  little  ones  have  such  an  exuberance  of  life  that  it  is 
not  easily  quenched.  Formal  knowledge  stands  first  in 
our  common  school  course  and  real  studies  are  allowed  to 
pick  up  such  crumbs  of  comfort  as  may  chance  to  fall. 
We  believe  in  formal  studies  and  in  their  complete  mastery 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE.  37 

in  the  common  school,  but  they  should  stand  in  the  place 
of  service  to  real  studies.  How  powerful  the  tendency 
has  been  and  still  is  toward  pure  formal  drill  and  word 
memory  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  even  geography 
and  history,  which  are  not  at  all  formal  studies,  but  full 
to  overflowing  with  interesting  facts  and  laws,  have  been 
reduced  to  a  dry  memorizing  of  words,  phrases,  and  ster- 
eotyped sentences. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  the  numerous  body 
of  teachers,  who  easily  drift  into  mechanical  methods,  has 
a  preference  for  formal  studies.  They  are  comparatively 
easy  and  humdrum  and  keep  pupils  busy.  Real  studies, 
if  taught  with  any  sort  of  fitness,  require  energy,  interest, 
and  versatility,  besides  much  outside  work  in  preparing 
materials. 

The  second  article  of  faith  is  a  still  stronger  one.  The 
better  class  of  energetic  teachers  would  never  have  been 
won  over  to  formal  studies  on  purely  utilitarian  grounds. 
A  second  conviction  weighs  heavily  in  their  minds.  "T/ie 
((iscipline  of  the  mental  facAdties''  is  a  talisman  of  unusual 
potency  with  them.  They  prize  arithmetic  and  grammar 
more  for  this  than  for  any  direct  practical  value.  The 
idea  of  mental  discipline,  of  training  the  faculties,  is  so 
ingrained  into  all  'our  educational  thinking  that  it  crops 
out  in  a  hundred  ways  and  holds  our  courses  of  study  iu 
the  beaten  track  of  formal  training  with  a  steadiness  that 
is  astonishing.  These  friends  believe  that  we  are  taking 
the  back-bone  out  of  education  by  making  it  interesting. 
The  culmination  of  this  educational  doctrine  is  reached 
when  it  is  said  that  the  most  valuable  thing  learned  in 
school  or  out  of  it  is  to  do  and  do  vigorously  that  which 
is  most  disagreeable.  The  training  of  the  will  to  meet 
difficulties  unflinchingly  is  their  aim,  and  we  can  not  gain- 

1' 


58  GENERAL   METHOD. 

say  it.  These  stalwart  apostles  of  educational  hardship 
and  difficulty  are  in  constant  fear  lest  we  shall,  make 
studies  interesting  and  attractive  and  thus  undermine 
the  energy  of  the  will.  But  the  question  at  once  arises: 
Does  not  the  will  always  act  from  motives  of  some  sort? 
And  is  there  any  motive  or  incentive  so  stimulating  to 
the  will  as  a  steady  and  constantly  increasing  wterest  in 
studies?     It  is  able  to  surmount  great  difficulties. 

We  wish  to  assure  our  stalwart  friends  that  we  still 
adhere  to  the  good  old  doctrine  that  "there  is  no  royal 
road  to  learning."  There  is  no  way  of  putting  aside  the 
real  difficulties  that  are  found  in  every  study,  no  way  of 
grading  up  the  valleys  and  tunneling  through  the  hills  so 
as  to  get  the  even  monotony  of  a  railroad  track  through 
the  rough  or  mountainous  part  of  education.  Every 
child  must  meet  and  master  the  difficulties  of  learning 
for  himself.  There  are  no  palace  cars  with  reclining  chairs 
to  carry  him  to  the  summit  of  real  difficulties.  The  char- 
acter-developing j)oiper  that  lies  in  the  mastery  of  hard 
tasks  constitutes  one  of  their  chief  merits.  Accepting 
this  as  a  fundamental  truth  in  education,  the  problem 
for  our  solution  is,  how  to  stimulate  children  to  encounter 
difficulties.  Many  children  have  little  inclination  to  sac- 
rifice their  ease  to  the  cause  of  learning,  and  our  dull 
methods  of  teaching  confirm  them  in  their  indifference 
to  educational  incentives.  Any  child,  who.  like  Hugh 
Miller  or  Abraham  Lincoln,  already  possesses  an  insati- 
able thirst  for  knowledge,  will  allow  no  difficulties  or 
hardships  to  stand  in  the  way  of  progress.  This  original 
appetite  and  thirst  for  knowledge  which  the  select  few 
have  often  manifested  in  childhood  is  more  valuable  than 
anything  the  schools  can  give.  With  the  majority  of 
children  we  can  certainly  do  nothing  better  than  to  nur- 


THE  RELATIVE   VALUE.  59 

ture  such  a  taste  for  knowledge  into  vigorous  life.  It 
will  not  do  to  assume  that  the  average  of  children  have 
any  such  original  energy  or  momentum  to  lead  them  to 
scale  the  heights  of  even  ordinary  knowledge.  Nor  will 
it  do  to  rely  too  much  upon  divorcing  process,  that  is,  by 
means  of  threats,  severity,  and  discipline,  to  carry  chil- 
dren against  their  will  toward  the  educational  goal. 

•'Be  not  like  dumb  driven  cattle, 
Be  a  hero  in  the  strife" 

is  sound  educational  doctrine. 

The  thing  for  teachers  to  do  is  to  cultivate  in  children 
all  healthy  appetites  for  knowledge,  to  set  up  interesting 
aims  and  desires  at  every  step,  to  lead  the  approach  to 
different  fields  of  knowledge  in  the  spirit  of  conquest. 

In  the  business  world  and  in  professional  life  men  and 
women  work  with  abundant  energy  and  will  because  they 
have  desirable  ends  in  view.  The  hireling  knows  no  such 
generous  stimulus.  Bu.siness  life  is  full  of  irksome  and 
difficult  tasks  but  the  aim  in  view  carries  people  through 
them.  We  shall  not  eliminate  the  disagreeable  and  irk- 
some from  school  tasks,  but  try  to  create  in  children  such 
a  spirit  and  ambition  as  will  lead  to  greater  exertions. 
To  implant  vigorous  aims  and  incentives  in  children  is  the 
great  privilege  of  the  teacher.  We  shall  some  day  learn 
that  when  a  boy  cracks  a  nut  he  does  so  because  there 
may  be  a  kernel  in  it,  not  because  the  shell  is  hard. 

In  concluding  the  discussion  of  relative  values  we  will 
summarize  the  results. 

History,  in  the  liberal  sense,  surveys  the  field  of  hu- 
man life  in  its  typical  forms  and  furnishes  the  best  illus- 
trative moral  materials.  Nature  study  opens  the  door 
to  the  real  world  in  all  its  beauty,  variety,  and  law.  The 
formal  Hudiea  constitute  an  indispensable  part  of  useful 


60  GENERAL   METHOD. 

and  disciplinary  knowledge,  but  they  should  occupy  a 
secondary  place  in  courses  of  study  because  they  deal 
with  the  Jorm  rather  than  with  the  content  of  the  sci- 
ences. It  is  a  fundamental  error  to  place  formal  studies 
in  the  center  of  the  school  course  and  to  subordinate 
everything  to  their  mastery.  History  and  natural  sci- 
ence, on  the  contrary,  having  the  richest  knowledge  con- 
tent, constitute  a  natural  center  for  all  educative  efforts. 
They  make  possible  a  strong  development  of  will-energy 
because  their  interesting  materials  furnish  strong  and 
legitimate  incentives  to  mental  activity  and  an  enlarged 
field  and  opportunity  to  voluntary  effort  in  pursuit  of 
clear  and  attractive  aims. 


"''^l^^.^noo. 


A/. 


^- 


NATURE  OF  I^'TEREST.  61 


CHAPTER  HI. 


NATURE   OF   INTEREST. 

By  interest  we  mean  the  natural  bent  or  inclinatiou 
of  the  mind  to  find  satisfaction  in  a  subject  when  it  is 
properly  presented.  It  is  the  natural  attractiveness  of 
the  subject  that  draws  and  holds  the  attention.  Inter- 
est belongs  to  the  feelings  but  differs  from  the  other  feel- 
ings, such  as  desire  or  longing  for  an  object,  since  it  is 
satisfied  with  the  simple  contemplation  without  asking 
for  possession.  The  degree  of  interest  with  which  differ- 
ent kinds  of  knowledge  are  received,  varies  greatly. 
Indeed,  it  is  possible  to  acquire  knowledge  in  such  a  man. 
ner  as  to  produce  dislike  and  disgust.  A  proper  interest 
in  a  subject  leads  to  a  quiet,  steady  absorption  of  the 
mind  with  it,  but  does  not  imply  an  impetuous,  passion- 
ate, and  one-sided  devotion  to  one  thing.  Interest  keeps 
the  mind  active  and  alert  without  undue  excitement  or 
partiality. 

It  would  be  well  if  every  study  and  every  lesson  could 
be  sustained  by  such  an  interest  as  this.  It  would  be  in 
many  cases  like  lubricating  oil  poured  upon  dry  and 
creaking  axles.  Knowledge  might  then  have  a  flavor  to 
it  and  would  be  more  than  a  consumption  of  certain  facts 
and  formulas  coldly  turned  over  to  the  memory  machine. 
The  child's  own  personality  must  become  entangled  in 
the  facts  and  ideas  acquired.  There  should  be  a  sort  of 
affinity  established  between  the  child's  soul  and  the  in- 
formation   hfi   gains.     At   every  step  the  sympathy  and 


62  GENERAL  METHOD. 

life  experiences  from  without  the  school  should  be  inter- 
twined with  school  acquisitions.  "  All  would  be  woven  to- 
gether and  permeated  by  feeling.  We  forget  that  the 
feelings  or  sensibilities  awakened  by  knowledge  are  what 
give  it  personal  significance  to  us. 

The  interest  we  have  in  mmdis,  intrinsic,  native  to 
the  subject,  and  springs  up  naturally  when  the  mind  is 
brought  face  to  face  with  something  attractive.  The 
things  of  sense  in  nature  and  the  people  whom  we  see 
and  read  about,  have  a  perennial  and  inexhaustible  attrac- 
tion for  us  all.  It  is  among  these  objects  that  poets 
and  artists  find  their  materials  and  their  inspiration. 
For  the  same  reason  the  pictures  drawn  by  the  artist 
or  poet  have  a  charm  which  does  not  pass  away.  They 
select  something  concrete  and  individual;  they  clothe  it 
with  beauty  and  attractiveness;  they  give  it  some  in- 
herent quality  that  appeals  to  our  admiration  and  love. 
It  must  call  forth  some  esthetic  or  moral  judgment  by 
virtue  of  its  natural  quality.  Like  luscious  grapes  the 
objects  presented  to  the  thought  of  the  children  should 
have  an  unquestionable  quality  that  is  desirable. 

We  just  spoke  of  interest,  not  as  fluctuating  and 
variable,  but  steady  and  persistent.  It  contains  also  the 
elements  of  ease,  pleasure,  and  needed  employment;  that 
is, in  learning  something  that  has  a  proper  interest, 
there  is  greater  ease  and  pleasure  in  the  acquisition, 
and  occupation  with  the  object  satisfies  an  inner  need. 
"When  interest  has  been  fully  developed,  it  must  always 
combine  pleasure,  facility,  and  the  satisfaction  of  a 
need.  We  see  again  that  in  all  exertions,  power  and 
pleasure  are  secured  to  interest.  It  does  not  feel  the 
burden  of  difficulties  but  often  seems  to  sport  with 
them. "— Zt7/er. 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  63 

A  natural  interest  is  also  awakened  by  what  is 
strange,  mysterious,  and  even  frightful,  but  these  kinds 
of  interest  concern  us  from  a  speculative  rather  than 
a  pedagogical  point  of  view.  We  are  seeking  for  those 
interests  which  contribute  to  a  normal  and  permanent 
mental  action. 

Severe  effort  and  exertion  are  a  necessary  part  of  in- 
struction, but  a  proper  interest  in  the  subject  will  lead 
children  to  exert  themselves  with  greater  energy  even 
when  encountering  disagreeable  tasks.  There  are  places 
in  every  subject  when  work  is  felt  as  a  burden  rather 
than  as  a  pleasure,  but  the  interest  and  energy  aroused 
in  the  more  attractive  parts  will  carry  a  child  through 
the  swamps  and  mires  at  a  speedier  rate.  It  is  not  at  all 
desirable  to  conceal  difficulties  under  the  guise  of  amuse- 
ment. But  by  means  of  a  natural  interest  it  is  possible 
to  bring  the  mind  into  the  most  favorable  state  for  ac- 
tion. In  opposition  to  a  lively  and  humane  treatment  of 
subjects,  a  dry  and  dull  routine  has  often  been  praised 
as  the  proper  discipline  of  the  raicd  and  will.  "It  was  a 
mistake,"  says  Ziller,  "to  find  in  the  simple  pressure  of 
difficulties  a.  source  of  culture,  for  it  is  the  opposite  of 
culture.  It  was  a  mistake  to  call  the  pressure  of  effort, 
the  feeling  of  burden  and  pain,  a  source  of  proper  train- 
ing, simply  because  will  power  and  firmness  of  character 
are  thus  secured  and  preserved  to  youth.  Pedagogical 
efforts  looking  towards  a  lightening  and  enlivening  of  in- 
struction should  not  have  been  answered  by  an  appeal  to 
severe  methods,  to  strict,  dry,  and  dull  learning,  that 
made  no  attempt  to  adapt  itself  to  the  natural  movement 
of  the  child's  mind."  (Ziller,  Lehre  vom  E.  U.,  p.  355.) 
Not  those  studies  which  are  driest,  dullest,  and  most 
disagreeable  should   be  selected  upon  which  to  awaken 


64  GENERAL  METHOD. 

the  mental  forces  of  a  child,  but  those  which  naturally 
arouse  his  interest  and  prompt  him  to  a  lively  exercise 
of  his  powers.  For  children  of  the  third  and  fourth^rade 
to  narrate  the  story  of  the  Golden  Fleece  is  a  more  suit- 
able exercise  than  to  memorize  the  CXIXth  Psalm,  or 
a  catechism. 

A  proper  interest  aims,  finally,  at  the  highest  form  of 
quiet,  sustained  loill  exertion.  The  succession  of  steps 
leading  up  to  will  energy,  is  interest,  desire,  and  will. 
Before  attempting  to  realize  the  higher  forms  of  will 
effort,  we  must  look  to  the  fountains  and  sources  out 
of  which  it  springs.  If  a  young  man  has  laid  up  abundant 
and  interesting  stores  of  knowledge  of  architecture,  he 
only  needs  an  opportunity,  and  there  is  likely  to  be  great 
will-energy  in  the  work  of  planning  and  constructing 
buildings.  But  without  this  interest  and  knowledge 
there  will  be  no  effort  along  this  line.  In  like  manner 
children  cannot  be  expected  to  show  their  best  effort  un- 
less the  subject  is  made  strongly  interesting  from  the 
start,  or  unless  interest-awakening  knowledge  has  al- 
ready been  stored  in  the  mind.  To  make  great  demands 
upon  the  will  power  in  early  school  years,  is  like  asking 
for  ripe  fruits  before  they  have  had  time  to  mature. 
Knowledge,  feelings,  and  will-incentives  of  every  sort 
must  be  first  planted  in  the  mind,  before  a  proper  will- 
energy  can  be  expected.  In  teaching,  we  should  aim  to 
develop  will  power,  not  to  take  it  for  granted  as  a  ready 
product.  As  the  will  should  ultimately  control  all  the 
mental  powers,  its  proper  maturity  is  a  later  outcome  of 
education.  Even  supposing  that  the  will  has  consid- 
erable original  native  power,  it  is  a  power  that  is  likely 
to  lie  dormant  or  be  used  in  some  ill-direction,  unless 
proper  incentives  are  brought  to  bear  upon  it.     The  will 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  65 

is  so  constituted  that  it  is  open  to  appeal,  and  in  all  the 
affairs  of  school  and  life,  incentives  of  all  sorts  are  con- 
stantly brought  to  bear  upon  it.  Why  not  make  an  effort 
to  bring  to  bear  the  incentives  that  spring  out  of  inter- 
-est,  that  steady  force,  which  is  able  to  give  abiding  ten- 
dency and  direction  to  the  efforts?  Why  not  cultivate 
those  nobler  incentives  that  spring  out  of  culture-bring- 
ing-knowledge?  There  are,  therefore,  important  prelim- 
inaries to  full  will  energy,  which  are  secured  by  the  cul- 
tivation of  knowledge,  the  sensibilities,  and  desires. 

There  is  a  common  belief  that  any  subject  can  be  made 
interesting  if  only  the  teacher  knows  the  secret  of  the 
how;  if  only  he  has  proper  skill.  But  it  is  hard  even  for 
a  skillful  workman  "to  make  bricks  without  straw,"  to 
awaken  mental  effort  where  interest  in  the  subject  is  en- 
tirely lucking.  It  is  often  claimed  that  if  there  is  dull- 
ness and  disgust  with  a  study  it  is  the  fault  of  the  teacher. 
As  Mr.  Quick  says,  '-I  would  go  so  far  as  to  lay  it  down 
as  a  rule,  that  whenever  children  are  inattentive  and  ap- 
parently take  no  interest  in  a  lesson,  the  teacher  should 
always  look  first  to  himself  for  the  reason.  There  are 
perhaps  no  circumstances  in  which  a  lack  of  interest 
does  not  originate  in  the  mode  of  instruction  adopted  by 
the  teacher."  This  statement  assumes  that  all  knowledge 
is  about  equally  interesting  to  pupils,  and  everything 
depends  upon  the  tnanner  in  which  the  teacher  deals  with 
it.  But  different  kinds  of  knowledge  differ  widely  in 
their  power  to  awaken  interest  in  childr^ft.- .  The  true 
idea  of  interest  demands  that  the  subject  matter  be  ^ 
itselj  interesting,  adapted  to  appeal  to  a  child,  and  to  se- 
cure his  participation.  If  the  interest  awakened  by 
bringing  the  mind  in  contact  with  the  subject  is  not 
spontaneous,  it  is   not  genuine  and   helpful  in   the  best 


r,«  (lENERAL  METHOD. 

sense.  One  of  the  first  and  greatest  evils  of  all  school 
courses  has  been  a  failure  to  select  those  subjects,  which 
in  themselves  are  adapted  to  excite  the  interest  of  chil- 
dren at  each  age  of  progress.  If  we  could  assume  that 
lessons  had  been  so  arranged,  we  might  then  with  Mr. 
Quick  justly  demand  of  a  teacher  a  manner  of  teaching 
that  must  make  the  subjects  interesting,  or  in  other 
words  a  manner  of  treatment  that  would  be  appropriate 
to  an  interesting  subject. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  interest  that  need  to  be 
clearly  distinguished:  direct  interest,  which  is  felt  for  the 
thing  itself,  for  its  own  sake,  and  indirect  interest  which 
points  to  something  else  as  the  real  sourde.  A  miser 
loves  gold  coins  for  their  own  sake,  but  most  people  love 
them  only  because  of  the  things  for  which  they  may  be 
exchanged.  The  poet  loves  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of 
flowers,  the  florist  adds  to  this  a  mercenary  interest.  A 
snow-shovel  may  have  no  interest  for  us  ordinarily,  but 
just  when  it  is  needed,  on  a  winter  morning,  it  is  an 
object  of  considerable  interest.  It  is  simply  a  means  to 
an  end.  The  kind  of  interest  which  we  think  is  so  valu- 
able for  instruction  is  direct  and  intrinsic.  The  life  of 
Benjamin  Franklin  calls  out  a  strong  direct  interest  in 
the  man  and  his  fortunes.  A  humming  bird  attracts 
and  appeals  to  us  for  its  own  &ake.  Indirect  interest, 
so  called,  has  more  of  the  character  of  desire.  A  desire 
to  restore  one's  health  will  produce  great  interest  in  a 
certain  health  resort,  like  the  Hot  Springs,  or  in  some 
method  of  treatment,  as  the  uge  of  Koch's  lymph.  The 
desire  for  wealth  and  business  success  will  lead  a  mer- 
chant in  the  fur  trade  to  take  interest  in  seals  and  seal- 
fishing,  and  in  beavers,  trapping,  etc.  The  wish  to  gain 
a  prize  will  cause  a  child  to  take  deep  interest  in  a  lesson. 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  07 

But  in  all  these  cases  desire  precedes  interest.  Interest, 
indeed,  in  the  thing  itself  for  its  own  sake,  is  frequently 
not  present.  It  is  true  in  many  cases  that  indirect  in- 
terest is  not  interest  at  all.  It  is  a  dangerous  thing  in 
education  to  substitute  indirect  for  direct  or  true  interest. 
The  former  often  means  the  cultivation,  primarily,  of 
certain  inordinate  desires  or  feelings,  such  as  rivalry, 
pride,  jealousy,  ambition,  reputation,  love  of  self.  By 
appealing  to  the  selfish  pride  of  children  in  getting  les- 
sons, hateful  moral  qualities  are  sometimes  started  into 
active  growth  in  the  very  effort  to  secure  the  highest  in- 
tellectual results  and  discipline.  Giving  a  prize  for  su- 
periority often  produces  jealousy,  unkindness,  and  deep- 
seated  ill-will  where  the  cultivation  of  a  proper  natural 
interest  would  lead  to  more  kindly  and  sympathetic  rela- 
tions between  the  children.  The  cultivation  of  direct  in- 
terest in  all  valuable  kinds  of  knowledge,  on  the  other 
hand,  leads  also  to  the  cultivation  of  desires,  but  the  de- 
sires thus  generated  are  pure  and  generous,  the  desire 
for  further  knowledge  of  botany  or  history,  the  desire  to 
imitate  what  is  admirable  in  human  actions  and  to  shun 
what  is  mean.  The  desires  which  spring  out  of  direct 
interest  are  elevating,  while  the  desires  which  are  asso- 
ciated with  indirect  interest  are  in  many  cases  egotistic 
and  selfish. 

We  often  say  that  it  is  necessary  to  make  a  subject 
interesting  so  that  it  may  be  more  p<ilat<(ble,  more  easily 
learned.  'J'his  is  the  commonly  accepted  idea.  It  is  a 
means  of  helping  us  to  swallow  a  distasteful  medicine. 
If  the  main  purpose  were  to  get  knowledge  into  the  mind, 
and  interest  only  a  means  to  this  end,  the  cultivation  of 
such  indirect  interests  would  be  all  right.  But  interest 
is  one  of  the  qualities  which  we  wish  to  see  permanently 


68  GENERAL  METHOD. 

associated  with  knowledge  even  after  it  is  safely  stored 
in  the  mind.  If  interest  is  there,  future  energy  and  ac- 
tivity will  spring  spontaneously  out  of  the  acquirements. 
Indirect  interest  indeed  is  often  necessary  and  may 
be  a  sign  of  tact  in  teaching.  But  it  is  negative  and 
weak  in  after  results.  So  far  as  it  produces  motives  at 
all  they  may  be  dangerous.  It  cannot  build  up  and 
strengthen  character  but  threatens  to  undermine  it  by 
cultivating  wrong  motives.  There  is  no  assurance  that 
knowledge  thus  acquired  can  affect  the  will  and  bear 
fruit  in  action,  even  though  it  be  the  right  kind  of  knowl- 
edge, because  it  is  not  the  knowledge  in  this  case  that 
furnishes  the  incentives.  The  interest  that  is  awakened 
in  a  subject  because  of  its  innate  attractiveness,  leaves 
incentives  which  may  ripen  sooner  or  later  into  action. 
The  higher  kind  of  interest  is  direct,  intrinsic,  not 
simply  receptive,  but  active  and  progressive.  In  the 
knowledge  acquired  it  finds  only  incentives  to  further  ac- 
quisition. It  is  life  giving  and  is  prompted  by  the  ob- 
jects themselves,  just  as  the  interest  of  boys  is  awakened 
by  deeds  of  adventure  and  daring  or  by  a  journey  into 
the  woods.  The  interest  in  an  object  that  springs  from 
some  other  source  than  the  thing  itself,  is  indirect,  as 
the  desire  to  master  a  lesson  so  as  to  excel  others,  or 
gain  a  prize,  or  make  a  money  profit  out  of  it.  In  speak- 
ing of  interest  in  school  studies,  teachers  quite  commonly 
have  only  the  indirect  in  mind;  i.  e.,  the  kind  that  leads 
children  to  take  hold  of  and  master  their  lessons  more 
readily.  Interest  is  thus  chiefly  a  means  of  overcoming 
distasteful  tasks.  It  is  the  merit  of  a  direct  or  genuine 
interest  that  it  aids  in  mastering  difficulties  and  in  addi- 
tion to  this  gives  a  permanent  pleasure  in  studies.  One 
of  the  high  aims  of  instruction  is  to  implant  a  strong 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  69 

permanent   interest    in    studies  that    will    last    through 
school  days  and  after  they  are  over. 

A  live  interest  springs  most  easily  out  of  knowl- 
edge subjects  like  history  and  natural  science.  Formal 
studies  like  grammar  and  arithmetic  awaken  it  less 
easily.  Herbart  has  classified  the  chief  kinds  and  sources 
of  interest  as  follows:  Interest  in  nature  apart  fiom  man, 
and  interest  in  man,  society,  etc.  In  nature  and  natural 
objects  as  illustrated  in  the  natural  sciences  there  are 
three  chief  kinds  of  interest.  Empirical,  which  is  stirred 
by  the  variety  and  novelty  of  things  seen.  There  is  an 
attractiveness  in  the  many  faces  and  moods  of  nature. 
Between  the  years  of  childhood  and  old  age  there  is 
scarcely  a  person  who  does  not  enjoy  a  walk  or  a  ride  in 
the  open  air,  where  the  variety  of  plant,  bird,  animal, 
and  landscape  makes  a  pleasing  panorama.  Speculative 
interest  goes  deeper  and  inquires  into  the  relations  and 
causal  connections  of  phenomena.  It  traces  out  similar- 
ities and  sequences,  and  detects  law  and  unity  in  nature. 
It  is  not  satisfied  with  the  simple  play  of  variety,  but 
seeks  for  the  cause  and  genesis  of  things.  Even  a  child 
is  anxious  to  know  how  a  squirrel  climbs  a  tree  or  cracks 
a  nut;  where  it  stores  its  winter  food,  its  nest  and  man- 
ner of  \\ie  in  winter.  Why  is  it  that  a  mole  can  burrow 
and  live  under  ground?  How  is  it  possible  for  a  fish  to 
breathe  in  water?  Esthetic  interest  is  awakened  by 
what  is  beautiful,  grand,  and  harmonious  in  nature  or 
art.  The  first  glance  at  great  overhanging  masses  of 
rock,  oppresses  us  with  a  feeling  of  awe.  The  wings  of 
an  insect,  with  their  delicate  tracery  and  bright  hues, 
are  attractive,  and  stir  us  with  pleasure.  The  graceful 
ferns  beside  the  brooks  and  moss-stained  rocks  suggest 
fairy-land. 


70  GENERAL  METHOD. 

But  stronger  even  than  these  interests  which  attach 
us  to  the  things  of  nature,  are  the  interests  of  humanity. 
The  concern  felt  for  others  in  joy  or  sorrow  is  based  upon 
our  interest  in  them  individually,  and  is  sympathetic.  In 
this  lies  the  charm  of  biography  and  the  novel.  Take 
away  the  personal  interest  we  have  in  Ivanhoe,  Quenten 
Durward,  etc.,  and  Scott's  glory  would  quickly  depart. 
What  empty  and  spiritless  annals  would  the  life  of  Fred- 
eric the  Great  and  Patrick  Henry  furnish!  Social  inter- 
est is  the  regard  for  the  good  or  evil  fortune  of  societies 
and  nations.  Upon  this  depends  our  concern  for  the  pro- 
gress of  liberty  and  the  struggle  for  free  institutions  in 
Eno-land  and  other  countries.  On  a  smaller  scale  clubs, 
fraternities,  and  local  societies  of  all  kinds  are  based  on 
the  social  interest.  Religious  interest  finally  reveals  our 
consciousness  of  man's  littleness  and  weakness,  and  of 
God's  providence.  As  Pestalozzi  says,  "God  is  the  near- 
est resource  of  humanity.'"  As  individuals  or  nations 
pass  away  their  fate  lies  in  His  hand. 

The  sources  of  interest  therefore  are  varied  and  pro- 
ductive. Any  one  of  the  six  is  unlimited  in  extei^t  and 
variety.  Together  they  constitute  a  boundless  field  for  a 
l)roper  cultivation  of  the  emotional  as  well  as  int^dctual 
nature  of  man.  A  study  of  these  sources  of  genuine  in- 
terest and  a  partial  view  of  their  breadth  and  depth, 
reveals  to  teachers  what  our  ^.  ^sent  school  courses  tend 
strongly  to  mak^^  them  for-^et,  namely,  that  the  right 
kind  of  knowle*.  ^  conf^^'^^s  in  itself  the  stimulus  and  the 
germs- to  great  mental  eAt-*tion.  The  dull  drill  upon  gram- 
mar, arithmetic,  reading,  spelling,  and  writing,  which 
are  regarded  as  so  important  as  to  exclude  almost  every- 
thing else,  has  convinced  many  a  child  that  school  is 
veritably  a  dull  place.     And  many  a  teacher  is  just  as 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  71 

strongly  couvinced  that  keeping  school  is  a  dull  and 
sleepy  business.  And  yet  the  sources  of  interest  are 
abundant  to  overflowing  for  him  who  has  eyes  to  see. 
That  these  sources  and  materials  of  knowledge,  arousing 
deep  and  lasting  interests,  are  above  other  things  adapted 
to  children  and  to  the  school  room,  is  a  truth  worthy  of 
all  emphasis. 

Interest  is  a  good  test  of  the  adaptability  of  knowl- 
edge. When  any  subject  is  brought  to  the  attention  at 
the  right  age  and  in  the  proper  manner,  it  awakens  in 
children  a  natural  and  lively  feeling.  It  is  evident  that 
certain  kinds  of  knowledge  are  not  adapted  to  a  boy  at 
the  age  of  ten.  He  cares  nothing  about  political  science, 
or  medicine,  or  statesmanship,  or  the  history  of  literature. 
These  things  may  be  profoundly  interesting  to  a  person 
two  or  three  times  as  old,  but  not  to  him.  Other  things, 
however,  the  story  of  Ulysses,  travel,  animals,  geogra- 
phy, and  history,  even  arithmetic,  may  be  very  attractive 
to  a  boy  of  ten.  It  becomes  a  matter  of  importance  to 
select  those  studies  and  parts  of  studies  for  children  at 
their  cjj^ngiug  periods  of  growth,  which  are  adapted  to 
awaken  lyid  stimulate  their  minds.  We  shall  be  saved 
then  fr^-n  doing  what  the  best  of  educators  have  so  fre- 
(juently  condemned,  namely,  when  the  child  asks  for 
bread  give  him  a  stone,  or  when  he  asks  for  fish  give  him 
a  serpent. 

The  neglect  to  take  propier  cognizance  of  this  princi- 
ple of  interest  in  laying  out  cour«'^'=  of  stucjy  and  in  the 
manner  of   presenting   subject  certainly  one  of  the 

gravest  charges  that  ever  can  be  brought  against  the 
schools.  It  is  a  sure  sign  that  teachers  do  not  know 
what  it  means  "to  put  yourself  in  his  place,"  to  sympa- 
thize with  children  and  feel  their  needs.     The  educational 


72  GENERAL   METHOD. 

reformers  who  have  had  deepest  insight  into  child-life, 
have  given  us  clear  and  profound  warnings.  Rousseau 
says:  "Study  children,  for  be  sure  you  do  not  under- 
stand them.  Let  childhood  ripen  in  children.  The 
wisest  apply  themselves  to  what  it  is  important  to  men 
to  know,  without  considering  what  children  are  in  a  con- 
dition to  learn.  They  are  always  seeking  the  man  in  the 
child,  without  reflecting  what  he  is  before  he  can  be  a 
man."  It  is  well  for  us  to  take  these  words  home  and 
act  upon  them. 

It  is  worth  the  trouble  to  inquire  whether  it  is  possi- 
ble to  select  subjects  for  school  study  which  will  prove 
essentially  attractive  and  interesting  from  the  age  of  six 
on.  Are  there  materials  for  school  study  which  are 
adapted  fully  to  interest  first  grade  children?  We  know 
that  fairy  stories  appeal  directly  to  them,  and  they  love 
to  reproduce  them.  Reading  and  spelling  in  connection 
with  these  tales  are  also  stirring  studies.  Reading  a 
familiar  story  is  certainly  a  much  more  interesting 
employment  than  working  at  the  almost  meaningless  sen- 
tences of  a  chart  or  first  reader.  Number  work  when 
based  upon  objects  can  be  made  to  hold  the  attention  of 
little  ones,  at  least  in  the  last  half  of  the  first  grade. 
They  love  also  to  see  and  describe  flowers,  rocks,  plants, 
and  pictures.  It  probably  requires  more  skillful  teach- 
ing to  awaken  and  hold  the  interest  in  the  first  grade 
than  in  the  second  or  any  higher  grade,  unless  older  chil- 
dren have  been  dulled  by  bad  instruction.  On  what  prin- 
ciple is  it  possible  to  select  both  interesting  and  valuable 
materials  for  the  successive  grades?  We  will  venture  to 
answer  this  difficult  question. 

The  main  interest  of  children  must  be  attracted  by 
what  we  may  call  real  knoxoledge  subjects;  that  is,  those 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  73 

treating  of  people  (history  stories,  etc. ,)  and  those  treat- 
ing o"f  plants,  animals,  and  other  natural  objects  (natural 
science  topics).  Grammar,  arithmetic,  and  spelling  are 
chiefly  form  studies  and  have  less  native  attraction  for 
children.  Secondly,  it  may  be  laid  down  as  a  fact  of 
experience  that  children  will  be  more  touched  and  stimu- 
lated by  particular  persons  and  objects  in  nature  than  by 
any  general  propositions,  or  laws,  or  classifications. 
They  prefer  seeing  a  particular  palm  tree  to  hearing  a 
general  description  of  palms.  A  narrative  of  some 
special  deed  of  kindness  moves  them  more  than  a  dis- 
course on  kindness.  They  feel  a  natural  drawing  toward 
real,  definite  persons  and  things,  and  an  indifference  or 
repulsion  toward  generalities.  They  prefer  the  story  to 
the  moral.  Children  are  little  materialists.  They  dwell 
in  the  sense-world,  or  in  the  world  of  imagination  with 
very  clear  and  definite  pictures. 

But  while  dealing  with  things  of  sense  and  with  par- 
ticulars, it  is  necessary  in  teaching  children  to  keep  an 
eye  directed  toward  general  classes  and  toward  those 
laws  and  principles  that  will  be  fully  appreciated  later. 
In  geography,  arithmetic,  language  lessons,  and  natural 
science,  we  must  collect  more  materials  in  the  lower 
grades;  more  simple,  concrete  illustrations.  They  are 
the  basis  upon  which  we  can  soon  begin  to  generalize  and 
classify.  The  more  attractive  the  illustrative  materials 
we  select,  the  stronger  the  appeal  to  the  child's  own 
liking,  the  more  effective  will  be  the  instruction.  A  way 
has  been  discovered  to  make  the  study  of  the  concrete 
and  individual  lead  up  w^th  certainty  to  the  grasp  of 
general  notions  and  even  of  scientific  laws  as  fast  as  the 
children  are  ready  for  them.  If  the  concrete  object  or 
individual  is  carefully  selected  it  will  be  a  tgpe,  that  is, 


74  (iENERAL   METHOD. 

it  illustrates  a  whole  class  of  similar  objects.  Such  a 
typical  concrete  object  really  combines  the  particular  and 
the  general.  It  has  all  the  advantage  of  object-teaching, 
the  powerful  attraction  of  real  things,  but  its  comparison 
with  other  objects  will  also  show  that  it  illustrates  a  gen- 
eral law  or  principle  of  wide-reaching  scientific  import- 
ance. In  both  these  steps  natural  interest  is  provided 
for  in  the  best  way.  A  full  and  itemized  examination  of 
some  attractive  object  produces  as  strong  an  interest  as 
a  child  is  capable  of.  Then  to  find  out  that  this  object 
is  a  sort  of  key  to  the  right  interpretation  of  other  ob- 
jects, more  or  less  familiar  to  him,  has  all  the  charm  ol' 
discovery.  The  sunflower,  for  example,  is  a  large  and  at- 
tractive object  for  itemized  study.  If  the  examination 
leads  a  step  further  to  a  comparison  with  other  composite 
flowers,  there  will  be  an  interesting  discovery  of  kinship 
with  dandelions,  asters,  thistles,  etc.  This  principle  of 
the  type,  as  illustrating  both  the  particular  and  general, 
is  true  also  of  geographical  topics  that  lead  a  child  far 
from  home  and  call  for  the  construction  of  mental  pic- 
tures. The  study  of  Pike'K  Peak  and  vicinity  is  very  in- 
teresting and  instructive  for  fourth  grade  children.  The 
valleys,  springs  at  Manitou.  Garden  of  the  Gods,  Chey- 
enne Canon  and  Falls,  the  Cave  of  the  Winds,  the  ascent 
of  the  peak  by  trail  or  by  railroad,  the  views  of  distant 
mountains,  the  summit  house  on  the  barren  and  rugged 
top,  the  snow  fields  even  in  summer,  the  drifting  mists 
that  shut  off  the  view,  the  stories  of  hardship  and  early 
history — these  things  take  a  firm  hold  on  a  child's  interest 
and  desire  for  knowledge.  When  this  whole  picture  is 
reasonably  complete  a  brief  comparison  of  Pike's  Peak 
with  Mt.  Washington,  Mt.  Marcy.  Mt.  Shasta,  and  Mt. 
Rainier,  will  bring  forth  points  of  contrast  and  similarity 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  75 

that  will  surprise  and  instruct  a  child.  In  every  branch 
of  study  there  are  certain  underlying  principles  and  forms 
of  thought  whose  thorough  mastery  in  the  lower  grades 
is  necessary  to  successful  progress.  They  are  the  im- 
portant and  central  ideas  of  the  subject.  It  was  a  marked 
quality  of  Pestalozzi  to  sift  out  these  simple  fundamen- 
tals and  to  master  them.  It  is  for  us  to  make  these  sim- 
ple elements  intelligible  and  interesting  by  the  use  of 
concrete  types  and  illustrations  drawn  from  nature  and 
from  human  life.  If  we  speak  of  history  and  nature  as 
the  two  chief  subjects  of  study,  the  simple,  fundamental 
relations  of  persons  to  each  other  in  society,  and  the 
simple,  typical  objects,  forces,  and  laws  of  nature  con 
stitute  the  basis  of  all  knowledge.  These  elements  we 
desire  to  master.  But  to  make  them  attractive  to  chil- 
dren, they  should  not  be  presented  in  bald  and  sterile 
outlines,  but  in  typical  forms.  All  actions  and  human 
relations  must  appear  in  ^.ttvTici'we  personifcatiou. 

Persons  speak  and  act  and  virtues  shine  foi'th  in 
them.  We  do  not  study  nature's  laws  at  first,  but  the 
beautiful,  typical  life  forms  in  nature,  the  lily,  the  oak, 
Cinderella,  and  William  Tell.  For  children,  then,  the 
underlying  ideas  and  principles  of  every  study,  in  order 
to  start  the  interest,  must  be  revealed  in  the  most  beau- 
tiful illustrative  forms  which  can  be  furnished  by  nature, 
poetry,  and  art.  The  story  of  William  Tell,  although  it 
comes  all  the  way  from  the  Alps  and  from  the  distant 
traditional  history  of  the  Swiss,  is  one  of  the  best  things 
with  which  to  illustrate  and  impress  manliness  and  patri- 
otism. The  fairy  stories  for  still  younger  children,  are 
the  best  means  for  teaching  kindness  or  unselfishness, 
because  they  arc  so  chaste,  and  beautiful,  and  graceful, 
even  to  the  child's  thought.      The  most  attraetive  type- 


76  GENERAL   METHOD. 

forms  and  life-porsonifications  of  fundamental  ideas  in 
history  and  nature  are  the  really  interesting  objects  of 
study  for  children.  To  put  it  in  a  simple,  practical  form 
— objects  and  human  actions,  if  well  selected,  are  tho 
best  means  in  the  world  to  excite  curiosity  and  the  strong 
spirit  of  inquiry.  While  dwelling  upon  this  thought  of 
the  attractiveness  of  type-forms  as  personified  in  things 
or  persons,  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  far-reaching  truth  in 
education. 

The  idea  of  culture  epochs,  as  typical  of  the  steps  of 
progress  in  the  race,  and  also  of  the  periods  of  growth  in 
the  child,  offers  a  deep  perspective  into  educational  prob- 
lems. In  the  progress  of  mankind  from  a  primitive  state 
of  barbarism  to  the  present  state  of  culture  in  Europe 
and  in  the  United  States,  there  has  been  a  succession  of 
not  very  clearly  defined  stages.  In  point  of  government, 
for  example,  there  has  been  the  savage,  nomad,  patri- 
arch, kingdom,  constitutional  monarchy,  democracy,  re- 
public, federal  republic.  There  have  been  great  epochs 
of  politital  convulsion  in  the  conflicts  with  external  powers 
and  in  civil  struggles  and  revolutions.  In  the  growth  of 
handicrafts,  arts,  manufactures,  and  inventions,  there 
has  been  a  series  of  advances  from  the  time  when  men 
first  began  to  cultivate  the  ground,  to  reduce  the  metals, 
and  to  bring  the  forces  of  nature  into  service.  In  the 
development  of  human  society,  therefore,  and  in  the 
progress  of  arts  and  human  knowledge,  there  are  certain 
typical  stages  whose  proper  use  may  help  us  to  solve 
some  of  the  difficult  problems  in  educating  the  young. 
All  nations  have  passed  through  some  of  these  important 
epochs.  The  United  States,  for  example,  since  the  first 
settlements  upon  the  east  coast,  have  gone  rapidly  through 
many  of  the  characteristic  epochs  of  the  world's  history, 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  77 

in  politics,  commerce,  and  industry;  in  social  life,  educa- 
tion, and  religion. 

The  importance  of  the  culture  epochs  for  schools  lies 
in  the  theory,  accepted  by  many  great  writers,  that  chil- 
dren in  their  growth  from  infancy  to  maturity,  pass 
through  a  series  of  steps  which  correspond  broadly  to 
the  historical  epochs  of  mankind.  A  child's  life  up  to 
the  age  of  twenty,  is  a.  sort  of  epitome  of  the  world's 
history.  Our  present  state  of  culture  is  a  result  of 
growth,  and  if  a  child  is  to  appreciate  society  as  it  now 
is,  he  must  grow  into  it  out  of  the  past,  by  having  trav- 
eled through  the  same  stages  it  has  traced.  But  this  is 
only  a  very  superficial  way  of  viewing  the  relation  be- 
tween child  and  world  history.  The  periods  of  child  life 
are  so  similar  to  the  epochs  of  history,  that  a  child  finds 
its  proper  mental  food  in  the  study  of  the  materials  fur- 
nished by  these  epochs.  Let  us  test  this.  A  child  eight 
years  old  cares  nothing  about  reciprocity  or  free  silver, 
or  university  extension.  Robinson  Crusoe,  however, 
who  typifies  mankind's  early  struggle  with  the  forces 
of  nature,  claims  his  undivided  attention.  A  boy  of  ten 
will  take  more  delight  in  the  story  of  King  Alfred  or 
William  Tell  than  in  twenty  Gladstones  or  Bismarcks. 
Not  that  Gladstone's  work  is  less  important  or  interest- 
ing to  the  right,  person,  but  the  boy  does  not  live  and 
have  his  being  in  the  Gladstonian  age.  Not  all  parts 
of  history,  indeed,  are  adapted  to  please  and  instruct 
some  period  of  youth.  Whole  ages  have  been  destitute 
of  such  materials,  barren  as  deserts  for  educational  pur- 
poses. But  those  epochs  which  have  been  typical  of 
great  experiences,  landmarks  of  progress,  have  also 
found  poets  and  historians  to  describe  them.  The  great 
works   of    poets    and    historians   contain  also  the  great 


7ft  (JKNERAL   METHOD. 

object  lessons  upon  which  to  cultivate  the  minds  of  chil- 
dren.     Some  of  the  leading  characters  of  fiction  and  hi> 
tory  are  the  best  personifications  of  the  steps  of  progrt 
in  the  history  of  the  race;   Crusoe,  Abraham,  Ulysst.-. 
Alfred,    Tell,    David,    Charlemagne,    Moses,    Columbus 
Washington.       These  men,    cast  in  a  large   and  heron 
mold,  represent  great  human  strivings  and  are  adapteci 
to  teach  the  chief  lessons  of  history,  if  properly  select(  ■ 
and  arranged.     These  typical  individual  characters  illu- 
trate  the  fundamental  ideas  that  will  give  insight  and 
appreciation  for  later  social  forms.     They  contain,   hid- 
den as  it  were,  the  essential  part  of  great  historical  and 
social  truths  of  far-reaching  importance.     The  culture 
epochs  will  be  seen  later  to  be  important  in  solving  the 
problem  of  the  con  centra  tio7i  of  instruction  along  certain 
lines,  but  in  the  present  discussion  their  value  is  chiefly 
seen  in  their  adaptability  to  arouse  the  interest  of  chil- 
dren,   by   supplying   peculiarly    congenial    materials    of 
instruction  in  the  changing  phases  of  child  progress. 

The  interest  most  worth  awakening  in  pupils  is  not 
only  direct  but  permanent.  Hawthorne's  Golden  Touch 
embodies  a  simple  classic  truth  in  such  transparent 
form  that  its  reperusal  is  always  a  pleasure.  In  the 
same  way,  to  observe  the  autumn  woods  and  flowers,  the 
birds  and  insects,  with  sympathy  and  delight,  leaves  a 
lasting  pleasure  in  the  memory.  The  best  kind  of 
knowledge  is  that  which  lays  a  permanent  hold  upon  the 
affections.  The  best  method  of  learning  is  that  which 
opens  up  any  field  of  study  with  a  growing  interest.  To 
awaken  a  child's  permanent  interest  in  any  branch  cf 
knowledge  is  to  accomplish  much  for  his  character  and 
usefulness.  An  enduring  interest  in  American  history, 
for  example,   is  valuable  in  the  best  sense,    no  matter 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  79 

what  the  method  of  instruction.  Any  companion  or  book 
that  teaches  us  to  observe  the  birds  with  growing  interest 
and  pleasure  has  done  what  a  teacher  could  scarcely  do 
better.  This  kind  of  knowledge  becomes  a  living,  gen- 
erative culture  influence.  Knowledge  which  contains  no 
springs  of  interest  is  like  faith  divorced  from  works. 
Information  and  discipline  may  be  gained  in  education 
without  any  lasting  interest,  but  the  one  who  uses  such 
knowledge  and  discipline  is  only  a  machine.  A  Cambridge, 
student  who  had  taken  the  best  prizes  and  scholarships 
said  at  the  end  of  his  university  career:  "I  am  at  a  loss 
to  know  what  to  do.  I  have  already  gained  the  best  dis- 
tinctions, and  I  can  see  but  little  to  work  for  in  the 
future."  The  child  of  four  years,  who  opens  his  eyes 
with  unfeigned  interest  and  surprised  inquiry  into  the 
big  world  around  him,  has  a  better  spirit  than  such  a 
dead  product  of  university  training.  Rut  happily  this 
is  not  the  spirit  of  our  universities  now.  The  remarkable 
and  characteristic  idea  in  university  life  today  is  the 
spirit  of  investigation  and  scientific  inquiry  which  it  con- 
stantly awakens.  We  happen  to  live  in  a  time  when 
university  teachers  are  trying  to  enlarge  the  bounds  of 
human  knowledge  in  every  direction,  to  solve  problems 
that  have  not  been  solved  before.  No  matter  what  the 
subject,  the  real  student  soon  becomes  an  explorer,  an 
investigator  in  fields  of  absorbing-interest.  The  common 
school  can  scarcely  do  better  than  to  receive  this  gen- 
erous impulse  into  its  work.  Can  our  common  studies  be 
approached  in  this  inquisitive  spirit?  Can  growth  in 
knowledge  be  made  a  progressive  investigation?  A  true 
interest  takes  pleasure  in  acquired  knowledge,  and  stand- 
ing upon  this  vantage  looks  with  inquiring  purpose  into 
new  worlds.     Children  in  our  schools  are  sometimes  made 


80  GENERAL   METHOD. 

so  dyspeptic  that  no  knowledge  has  any  relish.  But  the 
soul  should  grow  strong,  and  .healthy,  and  elastic,  upon 
the  food  it  takes.  If  the  teaching  is  such  that  the  appe- 
tite becomes  stronger,  the  mental  digestion  better,  and 
if  the  spirit  of  interest  and  inquiry  grows  into  a  steady 
force,  the  best  results  may  be  expected. 

The  cultivation  of  a  many-sided  interest  is  desirable  in 
order  to  avoid  narrowness,  and  to  open  up  the  various 
sources  of  mental  activity,  i.  e.,  to  stimulate  mental 
vigor  along  many  lines.  We  believe  that  most  children 
are  capable  of  taking  interest  in  many  kinds  of  study. 
The  preference  which  some  children  show  for  certain 
branches  and  the  dislike  for  others  may  be  due  to  pecu- 
liar early  surroundings,  and  is  often  the  result  of  good  or 
poor  teaching  as  much  as  to  natural  gifts.  As  every 
child  has  sympathies  for  companions  and  people,  so  every 
child  may  take  a  real  interest  in  story,  biography,  and 
history,  if  these  subjects  are  rightly  approached.  So  also 
the  indifference  to  plant  and  animal  life  shown  by  many 
persons  is  due  to  lack  of  culture  and  suitable  suggestion 
at  the  impressionable  age.  Unquestionably  the  lives  of 
most  people  run  in  too  narrow  a  channel.  They  fail  to 
appreciate  and  enjoy  many  of  the  common  things  about 
them,  to  which  their  eyes  have  not  been  properly  opened. 
The  particular  trade  or  business  so  engrosses  most  peo- 
ple's time  that  their  sympathies  are  narrowed  and  their 
appreciation  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  life  is 
stunted.  The  common  school,  more  than  all  other  insti- 
tutions, should  lay  broad  foundations  and  awaken  many- 
sided  sympathies.  The  trade  school  and  the  university 
can  afford  to  specialize,  to  prepare  for  a  vocation.  The 
common  school,  on  the  contrary,  is  preparing  all  children 
for  general  citizenship.     The  narrowing  idea  of  a  trade 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  81 

or  calling  should  be  kept  away  from  the  public  school, 
and  as  far  as  possible  varied  interests  in  knowledge 
should  be  awakened  in  every  child. 

But  this  variety  of  interests  may  lead  to  scattering 
and  sicperficial  knowledge.  And  in  its  results  many- 
sided  interest  would  seem  to  point  naturally  to  many- 
sided  activity;  that  is,  to  multiplicity  of  employments,  to 
that  character  which  in  Yankee  phrase  is  designated  as 
".Jack  of  all  trades  and  master  of  none."  If  instead  of 
being  allowed  to  spread  out  so  much,  the  educational 
stream  is  confined  between  narrow  banks,  it  will  show  a 
deep  and  full  current.  If  allowed  to  spread  over  the 
marshes  and  plains,  it  becomes  sluggish  and  brackish. 
Our  course  of  study  for  the  common  schools  in  recent 
years,  has  been  largely  added  to  and  has  been  extended 
over  the  whole  field  of  knowledge.  History,  geography, 
natural  science  lessons  and  drawing  have  been  added  to 
the  old  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  grammar. 
There  may  appear  to  be  more  variety,  but  less  strength. 
When  in  addition  to  this  greater  variety  of  studies, 
enthusiastic  teachers  desire  to  increase  the  quantity  of 
knowledge  in  each  branch  and  to  present  as  many  inter- 
esting facts  as  possible,  at  every  point,  we  have  the  over- 
loading of  the  school  course.  This  effect  will  be  noticed 
in  a  later  chapter  in  its  bearing  upon  concentration. 
Children  have  too  much  to  learn.  They  become  pack- 
horses,  instead  of  free  spirits  walking  in  the  fields  of 
knowledge.  Mental  vigor,  after  all,  is  worth  more  than  a 
mind  grown  corpulent  and  lazy  with  an  excess  of  pabu- 
lum, overfed.  The  cultivation  therefore  of  a  many-sided 
interest  ceases  to  be  a  blessing  as  soon  as  encyclopedic 
knowledge  becomes  its  aim.  In  fact  the  desire  on  the 
part  of  teachers  to  make  the  knowledge  of  any  subject 


82  GENERAL  METHOD. 

complete  and  encyclopedic  destroys  all  true  interest. 
The  solution  of  this  great  problem  does  not  consist  in 
identifying  many-sided  interest  with  encyclopedic  knowl- 
edge, but  in  such  a  detailed  study  of  typical  forms  in 
each  case  as  will  give  insight  into  that  branch  without 
any  pretension  to  exhaustive  knowledge.  Certainly  a 
true  interest  in  plants  does  not  require  that  we  become 
acquainted  with  all  the  species  of  all  the  genera.  But  a 
proper  study  of  a  few  typical  forms  in  a  few  of  the  fami- 
lies and  genera  might  produce  a  much  deeper  interest  in 
nature  and  in  her  laws. 

The  culture  of  a  many-sided  interest  is  essential  to  a 
full  development  and  perfection  of  the  mental  activities. 
It  is  easy  to  see  that  interest  in  any  subject  gives  all 
thought  upon  it  a  greater  vigor  and  intensity.  Mental 
action  in  all  directions  is  strengthened  and  vivified  by  a 
direct  interest.  On  the  other  hand  mental  life  diminishes 
with  the  loss  of  interest,  and  even  in  fields  of  knowledge 
in  which  a  man  has  displayed  unusual  mastery,  a  loss  of 
interest  is  followed  by  a  loss  of  energy.  Excluding  in- 
terest is  like  cutting  -^ff  the  circulation  from  a  limb. 
Perfect  vigor  of  thought  which  we  aim  at  in  educa- 
tion,  is  marked  by  strength  along  three  lines,  the  vigor 
of  the  individual  ideas,  the  extent  and  variety  of  ideas 
under  control,  and  the  connection  and  harmony  of  ideas. 
It  is  the  highest  general  aim  of  intellectual  education  to 
strengthen  mental  vigor  in  these  three  directions.  Many- 
sided  interest  is  conducive  to  all  three.  Every  thought 
that  finds  lodgment  in  the  mind  is  toned  up  and  strength- 
ened  by  interest.  It  is  also  easier  to  retain  and  repro- 
duce some  idea  that  has  once  been  grasped  with  full 
feeling  of  interest.  An  interest  that  has  been  developed 
along  all  leading  lines  of  study  has  a  proper  breadth  and 


NATI'RE  OF  INTEREST.  83 

comprehensiveness  and  cannot  be  hampered  and  clogged 
by  narrow  restraints  and  prejudice.  We  admire  a  per- 
son not  simply  because  he  has  a  few  clear  ideas,  but  also 
for  the  extent  and  variety  of  this  sort  of  information. 
Our  admiration  ceases  when  he  shows  ignorance  or  preju- 
dice or  lack  of  sympathy  with  important  branches  of  study. 
Finally,  the  unity  and  harmony  of  the  varied  kinds  of 
knowledge  are  a  great  source  of  interest.  The  tracing  of 
connections  between  different  studies  and  the  insight 
that  comes  from  proper  associations,  are  among  the  high- 
est  delights  of  learning.  The  connection  and  harmony  of 
ideas  will  be  discussed  under  concentration. 

The  six  interests  above  mentioned  are  to  be  devel- 
oped along  parallel  lines.  They  are  to  be  kept  in  proper 
equipoise.  It  is  not  designed  that  any  one  shall  be  devel- 
oped to  the  overshadowing  of  the  others.  They  are  like 
six  pillars  upon  which  the  structure  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion is  rested.  A  cultivation  of  any  one,  exclusively, 
may  be  in  place  when  the  work  of  general  education  is 
complete  and  a  profession  or  life  labor  has  been  chosen. 

It  is  also  true  that  a  proper  interest  is  a  protection 
against  the  desires,  disorderly  impulses,  and  passions. 
One  of  the  chief  ends  of  education  is  to  bring  the  inclina- 
tions and  importunate  desires  under  mastery,  to  estab- 
lish a  counterpoise  to  them  by  the  steady  and  persistent 
forces  of  education.  A  many-sided  interest  cultivated 
along  the  chief  paths  of  knowledge,  implies  such  mental 
vigor  and  such  preoccupation  with  worthy  subjects  as 
naturally  to  discourage  unworthy  desires. 

Locke  says,  self-restraint,  the  mastery  over  one's 
inclinations,  is  the  foundation  of  virtue.  "He  that  has 
found  a  way  how  to  keep  a  child's  spirit  easy,  active,  and 
free,  and    yet    at   the  same  time    to  restrain  him  from 


84  GENERAL    METHOD. 

many  things  he  has  u,  mind  to,  and  to  draw  him  to  things 
that  are  uneasy  to  him;  he,  I  say,  that  knows  how  to 
reconcile  these  seeming  contradictions,  has,  in  my  opin- 
ion, got  the  true  secret  of  education."  But  it  is  a  secret 
still;  the  central  question  remains  unanswered.  How  is 
the  teacher  to  approach  and  influence  the  will  of  the 
child  ?  Is  it  by  supposing  that  the  child  has  a  will  al- 
ready developed  and  strong  enough  to  be  relied  upon  on 
all  occasions?  ,  On  the  contrary,  must  not  the  teacher 
put  incentives  in  the  path  of  the  pupil,  ideas  and  feelings 
that  prompt  him  to  self-denial? 

Interest  as  a  source  of  will-stimulus  has  peculiar  ad- 
vantages. It  is  not  desired  that  the  inclinations  and 
feelings  shall  get  the  mastery  of  the  mind,  certainly  not 
the  disorderly  and  momentary  desires.  Higher  desires, 
indeed,  should  properly  influence  the  will,  as  the  desire 
of  the  approval  of  conscience,  the  desire  to  attain  excel- 
lence, to  gain  strength  and  mastery,  to  serve  others,  etc. 
But  the  importance  of  awakening  interest  as  a  basis  of 
will  cultivation  is  found  in  the  favorable  mental  state  in- 
duced by  interest  as  a  preliminary  to  will  action  along 
the  best  lines.  Interest  is  not  an  impetuous  force  like 
the  desires,  prompting  to  instant  action,  but  a  quiet,  per- 
manent undertone,  which  brings  everything  into  readi- 
ness for  action,  clears  the  deck,  and  begins  the  attack. 
It  would  be  a  vast  help  to  many  boys  and  girls  if  the 
irksomeness  of  study  in  arithmetic  or  grammar,  which  is 
so  fatal  to  will  energy,  could  give  way  to  the  spur  of  in- 
terest, and  when  the  wheels  are  once  set  in  motion,  pro- 
gress would  not  only  begin  but  be  sustained  by  interest. 

It  is  pretty  generally  agreed  to  by  thoughtful  edu- 
cators, that  in  giving  a  child  the  broad  foundations  of 
education,  we  should  aim  not  so  much  at  knowledge  as  at 


NATURE  OF  INTEREST.  85 

capacity  and  appreciation  for  it.  A  universal  recep- 
tivity, such  as  Rosseau  requires  of  Emile,  is  a  desidera- 
tum. Scarcely  a  better  dowry  can  be  bestowed  upon  a 
child  by  education,  than  a  desire  for  knowledge  and  an 
intelligent  interest  in  all  important  branches  of  study. 
Herbart's  many-sided  interest  is  to  strengthen  and  branch 
out  from  year  to  year  during  school  life,  and  become  a 
permanent  tendency  or  force  in  later  years.  No  school 
can  give  even  an  ap])roach  to  full  and  encyclopedic  knowl- 
edge, but  no  school  is  so  humble  that  it  may  not. throw 
open  the  doors  and  present  many  a  pleasing  prospect 
into  the  fields  of  learning. 

With  Herbart,  therefore,  a  many-sided,  harmonious 
interest  promotes  will-enerffy  through  all  the  efforts  of 
learning  from  childhood  up,  and  when  the  work  of  gen- 
eral education  has  been  completed,  the  youth  is  ready  to 
launch  out  into  the  world  with  a  strong,  healthy  appetite 
for  information  in  mauv  directions.  The  best  fruitasre 
of  such  a  course  will  follow  in  the  years  that  succeed 
school  life.  Interest  is  a  very  practical  thing.  It  is  that 
which  gives  force  and  momentum  to  ideas.  It  is  not 
knowledge  itself,  but,  like  the  invisible  principle  of  life, 
it  converts  dead  matter  into  living  energy.  In  our 
schools  thus  far  we  have  had  too  much  faith  in  the  me- 
chanics of  education.  Too  much  virtue  has  been  imputed 
to  facts,  to  knowledge,  to  sharp  tools.  We  have  now  to 
learn  that  incentive  is  a  more  important  thing  in  educa- 
tion; that  is,  a  direct,  permanent,  many-sided  interest. 


86  GENERAL  MKTHOD 

CHAPTER  IV. 


CONCENTRATION. 

By  concentration  is  meant  such  a  connection  between 
the  parts  of  each  study  and  such  a  spinning  of  relations 
and  connecting  linlcs  between  different  sciences  that, 
unity  may  spring  out  of  the  variety  of  knowledge.  His- 
tory, for  example,  is  a  series  and  collocation  of  facts 
explainable  on  the  basis  of  cause  and  effect,  a  develop- 
ment. On  the  other  hand,  history  is  intimately  related 
to  geography,  language,  natural  science,  literature,  and 
mathematics.  It  would  be  impossible  to  draw  real  his- 
tory out  by  the  roots  without  drawing  all  other  studies 
out  bodily  with  it.  Is  there  then  any  reason  why  school 
history  should  ignore  its  blood  relationships  to  other 
branches  of  knowledge? 

Concentration  is  so  bound  up  with  the  idea  of  char- 
acter-forming that  it  includes  more  than  school  studies. 
It  lays  hold  of  home  influences  and  all  the  experiences  of 
life  outside  of  school' and  brings  them  into  the  daily  ser- 
vice of  school  studies.  It  is  just  as  important  to  bind  up 
home  experience  with  arithmetic,  language,  and  other 
studies  as  it  is  to  see  the  connection  between  geography 
and  history.  In  the  end,  all  the  knowledge  and  expe- 
rience gained  by  a  person  at  home,  at  school,  and  else- 
where should  be  classified  and  related,  each  part  brought 
into  its  right  associations  with  other  parts. 

Nor  is  it  simply  a  question  of  throwing  the  varied 
sorts  of  k)ioioledge  into  a  net-work  of  crossing  and  inter- 
woven series  so  that  the  person  may  have  ready  access 
along  various  lines  to  all  his  knowledge  stores.     Concen- 


CONCENTRATION.  87 

tration  draws  the  feelings  and  the  will  equally  into  its 
circle  of  operations.  To  imagine  a  character  without 
feeling  and  will  would  be  like  thinking  a  watch  without  a 
mainspring.  All  knowledge  properly  taught  generates 
feeling.  The  will  is  steadily  laying  out,  during  the  form- 
ative period  of  education,  the  highways  of  its  future 
ambitions  and  activities.  Habits  of  willing  are  formed 
along  the  lines  of  associated  thought  and  feeling.  The 
more  feeling  and  will  are  enlisted  through  all  the  avenues 
of  study  and  experience,  the  more  permanent  will  be  their 
influence  upon  character. 

In  attempting  to  solve  the  problem  of  concentration 
the  question  has  been  raised  whether  a  single  studg,  the 
most  important,  of  course,  should  constitute  a  concen- 
trating nucleus,  like  the  hub  in  a  wheel,  or  whether  fdl 
studies  and  experience  are  to  be  brought  into  an  organic 
whole  of  related  parts.  It  is  evident  that  history  and 
natural  science  at  least  hold  a  leading  place  among 
studies  and  determine  to  some  e.xtent  the  selection  of 
materials  in  reading  and  language  lessons. 

The  center  for  concentrating  efforts  in  education  is 
not  so  much  the  knowledge  given  in  any  school  course  as 
the  child's  mind  itself.  We  do  not  desire  to  find  in  the 
school  studies  a  new  center  for  a  child's  life  so  much  as 
the  means  for  fortifying  that  original  stronghold  of  char- 
acter which  rests  upon  native  mental  characteristics  and 
early  home  influences.  We  have  in  mind  not  the  objec. 
tivn  unity  of  different  studies  considered  as  complete  and 
related  sciences,  nor  any  general  model  to  which  each 
mind  is  to  be  conformed,  but  the  practical  union  of  all  the 
experiences  and  knowledge  that  find  entrance  into  a  par- 
ticular mind. 


88  GENERAL  METHOD. 

The  wiity  of  the  personality  as  gradually  developed  in 
a  child  by  wise  education  is  essential  to  strength  of  char- 
acter. Ackerman  says  on  this  point,  ("Ueber  Concentra- 
tion," p.  20.)  "  In  behalf  of  character  development,  which 
is  the  ultimate  aim  of  all  educative  effort,  pedagogy  re- 
quires uf  instruction  that  it  aid  in  forming  the  unity  of 
the  personality,  the  most  primitive  basis  of  character. 
In  requiring  that  the  unity  of  the  personality  be  formed 
it  is  presupposed  that  this  unity  is  not  some  original 
quality,  but  something  to  be  first  developed.  It  remains 
for  psychology  to  prove  this  and  to  indicate  in  what  man- 
ner the  unity  of  the  personality  originates.  Now,  psy- 
chology teaches  that  the  personality,  the  ego,  is  not 
something  original,  but  something  that  must  be  first  de- 
veloped and  is  also  changeable  and  variable.  The  ego  is 
nothing  else  than  a  psychological  phenomenon,  namely, 
the  consciousness  of  an  interchange  between  the  parts  of 
an  extensive  complex  of  ideas,  or  the  reference  of  all  our 
ideas  and  of  the  other  psychical  states  springing  out  of 
them  to  each  other.  P]xperience  teaches  this.  In  infancy 
the  ego,  the  personality,  is  consciously  realized  in  one 
person  sooner,  in  another  later.  In  the  different  ages  of 
life,  also,  the  personality  possesses  a  different  content. 
The  deeper  cause  for  the  mutual  reference  of  all  our  man- 
ifold ideas  to  each  other  and  for  their  union  in  a  single 
point,  as  it  were,  may  be  found  in  the  simplicity  of  the 
soul,  which  constrains  into  unity  all  things  that  are  not 
dissociated  by  hindrance  or  contradiction.  The  soul, 
therefore,  in  the  face  of  the  varied  influences  produced 
by  contact  with  nature  and  society,  is  active  in  concen- 
trating its  ideas,  so  that  with  mental  soundness  as  a 
basis,  the  ego,  once  formed,  in  spite  of  all  the  transitions 
through  which  it  may  pass,  still  remains  the  same." 


CONCENTRATION.  89 

There  is  then  a  natural  tendency  of  the  mind  to  unijy 
all  its  ideas,  feelings,  incentives.  On  the  other  hand  the 
knowledge  and  experiences  of  life  are  so  varied  and  seem- 
ingly contradictory  that  a  young  person,  if  left  to  him- 
self or  if  subjected  to  a  wrong  schooling,  will  seldom 
work  his  way  to  harmony  and  unity.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  soul  is  a  simple  unit  and  tends  naturally  to  unify 
all  its  contents,  the  common  experience  of  life  discovers 
in  it  unconnected  and  even  antagonistic  thought  and 
knowledge-centers.  People  are  sometimes  painfully  sur- 
prised to  see  how  the  same  mind  may  be  lifted  by  exalted 
sentiments  and  depressed  by  the  opposite.  The  frequent 
examples  that  come  to  notice  of  men  of  superiority  and 
virtue  along  certain  lines,  who  give  way  to  weakness  and 
wrong  in  other  directions,  are  sufficient  evidence  that 
good  and  evil  may  be  systematically  cultivated  in  the 
same  character,  and  that  instead  of  unity  and  harmony 
education  may  collect  in  the  soul  heterogeneous  and  war- 
ring elements  which  make  it  a  battle  ground  for  life.  All 
such  disharmony  and  contradiction  lend  inconsistency 
and  weakness  to  character.  Not  only  can  incompatible 
lines  of  thought  and  of  moral  action  become  established 
in  the  same  person,  but  even  those  studies  which  could 
be  properly  harmonized  and  unified  by  education  may 
lie  in  the  mind  so  disjointed  and  unrelated  as  to  render 
the  person  awkward  and  helpless  in  spite  of  much  knowl- 
edge. In  unifying  the  various  parts  of  school  education, 
and  in  bringing  them  into  close  connection  with  children's 
other  experiences,  the  school  life  fulfills  one  of  its  chief 
duties. 

Among  other  things  tending  toward  consistency  of 
character  there  must  be  harmony  between  the  school  ami 
hoyne  life  of  a  child.     At   home  or  among  companions, 


90  GENERAL  METHOD. 

perhaps  unknown  to  the  teacher,  a  boy  or  girl  may  be 
forming  an  habitual  tendency  and  desire,  more  powerful 
than  any  other  force  in  his  life,  and  yet  at  variance  with 
the  best  influence  of  the  school.  If  possible  the  teacher 
should  draw  the  home  and  school  into  a  closer  bond  so  as 
to  get  a  better  grasp  of  the  situation  and  of  its  remedy. 
The  school  will  fail  to  leave  an  effective  impress  upon  such 
a  child  unless  it  can  get  a  closer  hold  upon  the  sympa- 
thies and  thus  neutralize  an  evil  tendency.  It  must 
league  itself  with  better  home  influences  so  as  to  implant 
its  own  impulses  in  home  life.  How  to  unify  home  and 
school  influences  is  one  of  those  true  and  abiding  prob- 
lems of  education  that  appeals  strongly  and  sympathetic- 
ally to  parents  and  teachers. 

Concentration  evidently  involves  a  solution  of  the 
question  as  to  the  relative  value  of  studies.  All  the 
light  that  the  discussion  of  relative  values  can  furnish 
will  be  needed  in  selecting  the  different  lines  of  appro- 
priate study  and  in  properly  adjusting  them  to  one 
another.  The  theory  of  interest  will  also  aid  us  in  this 
field  of  investigation. 

Accepting  therefore  the  results  of  the  two  preceding 
chapters,  that  history  (in  the  broad  sense)  is  the  study 
which  best  cultivates  moral  dispositions;  secondly,  that 
natural  science  furnishes  the  indispensable  insight  into 
the  external  world,  man's  physical  environment;  and, 
thirdly,  that  language,  mathematics,  and  drawing  are  but 
the  formal  side  and  expression  of  the  two  realms  of  real 
knowledge,  we  have  the  broad  outlines  of  any  true  course 
of  education.  In  more  definitely  laying  out  the  parts  of 
this  course  the  natural  interests  and  capacities  of  children 
in  their  successive  periods  of  growth  must  be  taken  into 
the  reckoning.     When  a  course  of  study  has  been  laid  out 


CONCENTRATION.  .     91 

on  this  basis,  bringing  the  three  great  threads  or  cables 
of  human  knowledge  into  proper  juxtaposition  at  the  va- 
rious points,  we  shall  be  ready  to  speak  of  the  manner  of 
really  executing  the  plan  of  concentration. 

Even  after  the  general  plan  is  complete  and  the  studies 
arranged,  the  real  work  of  concentration  consists  in  fixhuj 
the  relations  as  the  facts  are  learned.  Concentration  takes 
for  granted  that  the  facts  of  knowledge  will  be  acquired. 
It  is  but  half  the  problem  to  learn  the  facts.  The  other 
half  consists  in  understanding  the  facts  by  fixing  the  re- 
lations. Most  teachers  will  admit  that  each  lesson  should 
be  a  collection  of  connected  facts  and  that  every  science 
should  consist  of  a  series  of  derivative  and  mutually  de- 
pendent lessons.  And  yet  the  study  and  mastery  of 
arithmetic  as  a  connection  of  closely  related  principles  is 
not  generally  appreciated.  With  proper  reflection  it  is 
not  difficult  to  see  that  the  facts  of  a  single  study  like 
grammar  or  botany  should  stand  in  close  serial  or  causal 
relation.  If  they  are  seen  and  fixed  with  a  clear  insight 
into  these  connections,  by  touching  the  chain  of  associa- 
tions at  any  point  one  may  easily  bring  the  whole  matter 
to  remembrance. 

Concentration,  however,  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the 
relation  of  different  studies  to  each  other.  In  this  larger 
sense  of  an  intimate  binding  together  of  all  studies  and 
experience  into  a  close  network  of  interwoven  parts,  con- 
centration is  now  generally  ignored  by  the  schools.  In 
fact  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  the  purpose  of  teachers 
were  to  make  a  clear  separation  of  the  ditferent  studies 
from  one  another  and  to  seal  up  each  one  in  a  separate  bot- 
tle, as  it  were.  The  problem  appears  in  two  phases:  1. 
Taking  the  school  studies  as  they  now  are,  is  it  desirable 
to  pay  more  attention  to  the  natural  connections  between 


92  GENERAL   METHOD. 

such  studies    as  reading,  geography,  history,  and   Ian-  j 
guage,  to  open  up  frequent  communicating  avenues  be-' 
tween  the  various  branches  of  educational  worlc  ?     2.   Or  ' 
if  concentration  is  regarded  as  still  more  important,  shall 
the  subject  matter  of  school  studies  be  rearranged  and 
the  lessons  in  different  branches  so  adjusted  to  each  other 
that  the  number  of  close  relations  between  them  may  be 
greatly  increased  ?     Then  with  the  intentional  increase 
of  such  connecting  links  would  follow  a  more  particular 
care  in  fixing  them.     We  have  assumed  the  latter  posi- 
tion, and  claim  that  the  whole  construction  of  the  school 
course  and  the  whole  method  of  teaching  should  contrib- 
ute powerfully  to  the  unification   of  all  the   knowledge 
and  experience  in  each  child's  mind. 

Without  laying  any  undue  stress  upon  simple 
knowledge,  we  believe  that  a  small  amount  of  well 
articulated  knowledge  is  more  valuable  than  a  large 
amount  of  loose  and  fragmentary  information.  A  small, 
disciplined  police  force  is  able  to  cope  with  a  large,  unor- 
ganized mob.  "The  very  important  principle  here  in- 
volved is  that  the  value  of  knowledge  depends  not  only 
upon  the  distinctness  and  accuracy  of  the  ideas,  but  also 
upon  the  closeness  and  extent  of  the  relations  into  which 
they  enter.  This  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  educa- 
tion. It  was  Hei'bart  who  said,  *  Only  those  thoughts 
come  easily  and  frequently  to  the  mind  which  have  at 
some  time  made  a  strong  impression  and  which  possess 
numerous  connections  with  other  thoughts.'  And  psy- 
chology teaches  that  those  ideas  which  take  an  isolated 
station  in  the  mind  are  usually  weak  in  the  impression 
they  make,  and  are  easily  forgotten.  A  fact,  however 
important  in  itself,  if  learned  without  reference  to  other 
facts,  is  quite  likely  to  fade  quickly  from  the  memory. 


CONCENTRATION.  93 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  witticisms,  sayings,  and 
scattered  pieces  of  information,  which  we  pick  up  here 
and  there,  are  so  soon  forgotten.  There  is  no  way  of 
bringing  about  their  frequent  reproduction  when  they 
are  so  disconnected,  for  the  reproduction  of  ideas  is 
largely  governed  by  the  law  of  association.  One  idea 
reminds  us  of  another  closely  related  to  it;  this  of 
another,  etc.,  till  a  long  series  is  produced.  They  are 
bound  together  like  the  links  of  a  chain,  and  one  draws 
another  along  with  it  just  as  one  link  of  a  chain  drags  an- 
other after  it.  A  mental  image  that  is  not  one  of  such  a 
series  cannot  hope  to  come  often  to  consciousness;  it 
must  as  a  rule  sink  into  oblivion,  because  the  usual  means 
of  calling  it  forth  are  wanting."  (F.  McMurry,  "Relation 
of  natural  science  to  other  studies.") 

We  are  not  conscious  of  the  constant  dependence  of 
our  thinkiiig  and  conversation  upon  the  laio  of  associa- 
tion. It  may  be  frequently  observed  in  the  familiar  con- 
versation of  several  persons  in  a  company.  The  simple 
mention  of  a  topic  will  often  suggest  half  a  dozen  things 
that  different  ones  are  prompted  to  say  about  it,  and 
may  even  give  direction  to  the  conversation  for  a  whole 
evening.  Now  if  it  is  true  that  ideas  are  more  easily  re- 
membered and  used  if  associated,  let  us  increase  the  associa- 
tions. Why  not  bind  all  the  studies  and  ideas  of  a  child 
as  closely  together  as  possible  by  natural  lines  of  asso- 
ciation? Why  not  select  for  reading  lessons  those  ma- 
terials which  will  throw  added  light  upon  contempo- 
raneous lessons  in  history,  botany,  and  geography?  Then 
if  the  reading  lesson  presents  in  detail  the  battle  of 
King's  Mou?itain,  take  the  pains  •  to  refer  to  this  part  of 
^he  history  and  put  this  lesson  into  connection  with  his- 
torical facts  elsewhere  learned.     If  a  reading  lesson  gives 


94  GENERAL  METHOD.  | 

a  full  description  of  tiie  palm  tree,  its  growth  and  use, 
what  better  setting  could  this  knowledge  find  than  in 
the  geography  of  Northern  Africa  and  the  West  Indies?'^ 

The  numerous  associations  into  which  ideas  enter, 
without  producing  confusion  make  them  more  serviceable 
for  every  kind  of  use.  "It  is  only  by  associating  thoughts 
closely  that  a  person  comes  to  possess^them  securely  and 
have  command  over  them.  One's  reproduction  of  ideas 
is  then  rapid  enough  to  enable  him  to  comprehend  a 
situation  quickly,  and  form  a  judgment  with  some  safety; 
his  knowledge  is  all  present  and  ready  for  use;  while  on 
the  other  hand,  one  whose  related  thoughts  have  never 
been  firmly  welded  together  reproduces  slowly,  and  in 
consequence  is  wavering  and  undecided.  His  knowledge 
is  not  at  his  command  and  he  is  therefore  weak."  (F. 
McMurry.)  The  greater  then  the  number  of  clear  mental 
relations  of  a  fact  to  other  facts  in  the  same  and  in  other 
studies  the  more  likely  it  is  to  render  instant  obedience 
to  the  will  when  it  is  needed.  Such  ready  mastery  of 
one's  past  experiences  and  accumulations  promotes  con- 
fidence and  power  in  action.  Concentration  is  manifestly 
designed  to  give  strength  and  decision  to  character. 
But  a  careless  education  by  neglecting  this  principle,  by 
scattering  the  mind's  forces  over  broad  fields  and  by  neg- 
lecting the  connecting  roads  and  paths  that  should  bind 
together  the  separate  fields,  can  actually  undermine  force  y 
and  decision  of  character. 

In  later  years  when  we  consider  the  results  of  school 
methods  upon  our  own  character  we  can  see  the  weakness 
of  a  system  of  education  which  lacks  concentration,  a 
weakness  which  shows  itself  in  a  lack  of  retentiveness  and 
of  ability  to  use  acquired  knowledge.  We  are  only  too 
frequently  reminded  of  the  loose  and  scrappy  state  of  our 


CONCENTRATION.  95 

acquired  knowledge  by  the  ease  with  which  it  eludes  the 
memory  when  it  is  needed.  To  escape  from  this  dis- 
agreeable consciousness  in  after  years,  we  begin  to  spy 
out  a  few  of  the  mountain  peaks  of  memory  which  still 
give  evidence  of  submerged  continents.  Around  these 
islands  we  begin  to  collect  the  wreckage  of  the  past  and 
the  accretions  of  later  study  and  experience.  A  thought- 
ful person  naturally  falls  into  the  habit  of  collecting  ideas 
around  a  few  centers,  and  of  holding  them  in  place  by 
links  of  association.  In  American  history,  for  instance, 
it  is  inevitable  that  our  knowledge  becomes  congested  in 
certain  important  epochs,  or  around  the  character  and 
life  of  a  few  typical  persons.  The  same  seems  to  be  true 
also  of  other  studies,  as  geography  and  even  geometry. 
The  failure  to  acquire  proper  habits  of  thinkirig  is  also 
exposed  by  the  experience  of  practical  life.  In  life  we 
are  compelled  to  see  and  respect  the  causal  relations  be- 
tween events.  We  must  calculate  the  influences  of  the 
stubborn  forces  and  facts  around  us.  But  in  school  we 
often  have  so  many  things  to  learn  that  we  have  no  time 
to  think.  At  least  half  the  meaning  of  things  lies 
not  in  themselves,  but  in  their  relations  and  effects. 
Therefore,  to  get  ideas  without  getting  their  significant 
relations,  is  to  encumber  the  mind  with  ill-digested  ma- 
terial. A  sensible  man  of  the  world  has  little  respect  for 
this  kind  of  learning. 

One  reason  why  knowledge  is  so  poorly  understood 
and  remembered  is  because  its  real  application  to  other 
branches  of  knowledge,  whether  near  or  remote,  is  so 
little  observed  and  fixed.  Looking  back  upon  our 
school  studies  we  often  wonder  what  botany,  geometry, 
and  drawing  have  to  do  with  each  other  and  with  our 
present  needs.       Each  subject  was  so  compactly  stowed 


90  GENERAL   METHOD. 

away  on  a  shelf  by  itself  that  it  is  always  thought  of 
in  that  isolation, — like  Hammerfest  or  the  Falkland 
Islands  in  geography, — out  of  the  way  places.  Are 
the  various  sciences  so  distinct  and  so  widely  separated 
in  nature  and  in  real  life  as  they  are  in  school?  An 
observant  boy  in  the  woods  will  notice  important  rela- 
tions between  animals  and  plants,  between  plants,  soil,  | 
and  seasons  that  are  not  referred  to  in  the  text-books. 
In  a  carpenter  shop  he  will  observe  relations  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  wood,  metals,  and  tools  to  each  other  that 
will  surprise  and*  instruct  him.  In  the  real  life  of  the 
country  or  town  the  objects  and  materials  of  knowledge, 
representing  the  sciences  of  nature  and  the  arts  of  life, 
are  closely  jumbled  together  and  intimately  dependent 
upon  each  other.  The  very  closeness  of  causal  and  local 
connections  and  the  lack  of  orderly  arrangement  shown 
by  things  in  life  make  it  necessary  in  schools  to  classify 
and  arrange  into  sciences.  But  it  is  a  vital  mistake  to 
suppose  that  the  knowledge  is  complete  when  classified 
and  learned  in  this  scientific  form.  Classification  and 
books  are  but  a  faulty  means  of  getting  a  clear  insight 
into  nature  and  human  life  or  society.  Knowledge  should 
not  only  be  mastered  in  its  scientific  classifications  but 
also  constantly  referred  back  to  things  as  seen  in  prac- 
tical life  and  closely  traced  out  and  fixed  in  those  con- 
nections. The  vital  connections  of  different  studies  with 
each  other  are  best  known  and  'realized  by  the  study  of 
nature  and  society. 

In  later  life  we  are  convinced  at  every  turn  of  the 
need  of  being  able  to  recognize  and  use  knowledge  out- 
side of  its  scietitific  connectio7is.  A  lawyer  finds  many 
subjects  closely  mingled  and  causally  related  in  his  daily 
business  which  were  never  mentioned  together  in  text- 


CONCENTRATION.  97 

books.  The  ordinary  run  of  cases  will  iead  him  through 
a  kaleidoscope  of  natural  science,  human  life,  commerce, 
history,  mathematics,  literature,  and  law,  not  to  speak  of 
less  agreeable  things.  But  the  same  is  true  of  a  physi- 
cian, merchant,  or  farmer,  in  different  ways.  Shall  we 
answer  to  all  this  that  schools  were  never  designed  to 
teach  such  things?  They  belong  to  professions  or  to  the 
school  of  life,  etc. 

But  it  is  not  simply  in  professions  and  trades  that  we 
find  this  close  mingling  and  dependence  of  the  most  di- 
vergent sorts  of  knowledge,  this  unscientific  mixing  of 
the  sciences.  Everywhere  knowledge,  however  well 
classified,  is  one-sided  and  misleading,  which  does  not 
conform  to  the  conditions  of  real  life.  A  wise  mother  in 
her  household  has  a  variety  of  problems  to  meet.  From 
cellar  to  garret,  from  kitchen  to  library,  from  nursery  to 
drawing-room,  her  good  sense  must  adapt  all  sorts  of 
knowledge  to  real  conditions.  In  bringing  up  her  chil- 
dren she  must  understand  physical  and  mental  orders 
and  disorders.  She  must  judge  of  foods  and  cooking,  of 
clothing,  as  to  taste,  comfort,  and  durability;  of  the  exer- 
cises and  employments  of  children,  etc.  Whether  she  is 
conscious  of  it  or  not,  she  must  mingle  a  knowledge  of 
chemistry,  psychology,  physiology,  medicine,  sanitation, 
the  physics  of  light  and  air,  with  the  traditional  house- 
hold virtues  in  a  sort  of  universal  solvent  from  which  she 
can  bring  forth  all  good  things  in  their  proper  time  and 
place.  As  Spencer  says,  education  should  be  a  prepara- 
tion for  complete  living;  or,  according  to  the  old  Latin 
maxim,  we  learn  non  scholae  sed  vitae.  The  fi-ual  test  of 
a  true  mastery  and  concentration  of  knowledge  in  the 
mind  is  the  ability  to  use  it  readily  in  the  varied  and 
tangled  relations  of  actual  experience. 


98  GENERAL  METHOD. 

We  are  accustomed  to  take  refuge  behind  the  so-called 
"mental  discipline"  that  results  from  studies,  whether  or 
not  anything  is  remembered  that  bears  upon  the  relations 
of  life.  There  are  doubtless  certain  formal  habits  of  mind 
that  result  from  study  even  though,  like  Latin,  it  is  cast 
aside  as  an  old  garment  at  the  end  of  school  days.  Trans- 
ferring our  argument  then  to  this  ground,  is  there  any 
"habit  of  thinking"  more  valuable  than  that  bent  of  mind 
which  is  not  satisfied  with  the  mere  memorizing  of  a  fact 
but  seeks  to  interpret  its  value  by  judging  of  its  influ- 
ence upon  other  facts  and  their  influence  upon  it?  No 
subject  is  understood  by  itself  nor  even  by  its  relation  to 
other  facts  in  the  same  science,  but  by  its  relation  to  the 
whole  field  of  knowledge  and  experience.  Unless  it  can 
be  proven  that  the  study  of  relations  is  above  the  chool- 
boy  capacity,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  is  any  mental  habit 
so  valuable  at  the  close  of  school  studies  as  the  disposi- 
tion to  ihitik  and  ponder,  to  trace  relations.  The  rela- 
tions which  are  of  interest  and  vital  importance  are  those 
which  in  daily  life  bind  all  the  realms  of  science  into  a 
network  of  causally  connected  parts. 

The  multiplication  of  studies  in  the  common  school  in 
recent  years  will  soon  compel  us  to  pay  more  attention 
to  concentration  or  the  mutual  relation  of  knowledges. 
There  is  a  resistless  tendency  to  convert  the  course  of 
studies  into  an  encyclopedia  of  knowledge.  To  perceive 
this  it  is  only  necessary  to  note  the  new  studies  incorpo- 
rated into  the  public  school  within  a  generation.  Draw- 
ing, natural  science,  gymnastics,  and  manual  training  are 
entirely  neV,  while  language  lessons,  history,  and  music 
have  been  expanded  to  include  much  that  is  new  for  lower 
grades.  Still  other  studies  are  even  now  seeking  admis- 
sion,  as  modern   languages,  geometrv.  and  sewing.     In 


CONCENTRATION.  00 

spite  of  all  that  has  been  said  by  educational  reformers 
against  making  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  the  basis  of 
education,  the  range  and  variety  of  studies  has  been 
greatly  extended  and  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  the 
reformers.  This  expansive  movement  appears  in  schools 
of  all  grades.  The  secondary  and  fitting  schools  and  the 
universities  have  spread  their  branches  likewise  over  a 
much  wider  area  of  studies.  We  are  in  the  full  sweep  of 
this  movement  along  the  whole  line  and  it  has  not  yet 
reached  its  flood. 

T?he  simplicity  of  the  old  course  both  in  the  common 
school  and  in  higher  institutions  is  in  marked  contrast  to 
the  present  multiplicity.  It  was  a  narrow  current  in 
which  education  used  to  run,  but  it  was  deep  and  strong. 
In  higher  institutions  the  mastery  of  Latin  and  of  Latin 
authors  was  the  siyie  qua  non.  In  the  common  school 
arithmetic  was  held  in  almost  equal  honor.  Strong  char- 
acters have  often  been  developed  by  a  narrow  and  rigid 
training  along  a  single  line  of  duty  as  is  shown  in  the 
case  of  the  Jesuits,  the  Humanists,  and  the  more  recent 
devotees  of  natural  science. 

As  contrasted  with  this,  the  most  striking  feature  of 
our  public  schools  now  is  their  shallow  and  superficial 
work.  It  is  probable  that  the  teaching  in  lower  grades 
is  better  than  ever  before,  but  as  the  tasks  accumulate  in 
the  higher  grades  there  is  a  great  amount  of  smattering. 
The  prospect  is,  however,  that  this  disease  will  grow  worse 
before  a  remedy  can  be  applied.  The  first  attempt  to 
cultivate  broader  and  more  varied  fields  of  knowledge  in 
the  common  school  must  necessarily  exhibit  a  shallow  re- 
sult. Teachers  are  not  familiar  with  the  new  subjects, 
methods  are  not  developed,  and  the'proper  adjustments  of 
the  studies  to  each  other  are  neeclocted.     No  one  who  is 


100  GENERAL  METHOD. 

at  all  familiar  with  our  present  status  will  claim  that 
drawing,  natural  science,  geography,  and  language  are 
yet  properly  adjusted  to  each  other.  The  task  is  a  difiB- 
cult  one,  but  it  is  being  grappled  with  by  many  earnest 
teachers. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  first  serious  effort  to  remedy 
this  shallowness  will  be  made  by  deepening  and  intensi- 
fying the  culture  of  the  new  fields.  The  knowledge  of 
each  subject  must  be  made  as  complete  and  detailed  as 
possible.  Well-qualified  teachers  and  specialists  will  of 
course  accomplish  the  most.  They  will  zealously  try  to 
teach  all  the  important  things  in  each  branch  of  study. 
But  where  is  the  limit  ?  The  capacity  of  children  !  And 
it  will  not  be  long  before  philanthropists,  physicians, 
reformers,  and  all  the  friends  of  mankind  will  call  a 
decisive  halt.  Children  w^ere  not  born  simply  to  be 
stuffed  with  knowledge,  like  turkeys  for  a  Christmas  din- 
ner. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  we  must  steer  between 
Scylla  and  Charybdis.  or  that  we  are  in  a  first-class  edu- 
cational dilemma.  This  conviction  is  strengthened  by 
the  reflection  that  there  is  no  escape  from  fairly  facing 
the  situation.  Having  once  put  our  hand  to  the  plow  we 
can  not  look  back.  The  common  school  course  has  greatly 
expanded  in  recent  years  and  there  is  no  probability  that 
it  will  ever  contract.  It  has  expanded  in  response  to 
proper  universal  educational  demands.  For  we  may 
fairly  believe  that  most  of  the  studies  recently  incorpo- 
rated into  the  school  course  are  essential  elements  in  the 
education  of  every  child  that  is  to  grow  up  and  take  a 
due  share  in  our  society.  It  is  too  late  to  sound  the 
retreat.  The  educational  reformers  have  battled  stoutly 
for  three  hundred  years  for  just  the  course  of  study  that 


CONCENTRATION.  101 

we  are  now  beginning  to  accept.  The  edict  can  not  be 
revoked,  that  every  child  is  entitled  to  an  harmonious  and 
equable  development  of  all  its  human  powers,  or  as  Her- 
bart  calls  it,  a  harmonious  culture  of  many-sided  interests. 
The  nature  of  every  child  imperatively  demands  such  broad 
and  liberal  culture,  and  the  varied  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities of  the  citizen  m,ake  it  a  practical  necessity.  No 
narrow,  one-sided  culture  will  ever  equip  a  child  to  act  a 
just  part  in  the  complex  social,  political,  and  industrial 
society  of  our  time.  But  the  demand  for  depth  of  knowl- 
edge is  just  as  imperative  as  that  for  comprehensiveness. 

It  is  clear  that  two  serious  dangers  threaten  the 
quality  of  our  education:  First,  loose  and  shallow  knowl- 
edge; second,  overloading  with  encyclopedic  knowledge. 
What  can  concentration  do  to  remedy  the  one  and  check 
the  other?  The  cure  for  these  two  evils  will  be  found  in 
so  adjusting  the  studies  to  each  other,  in  so  building 
them  into  each  other,  as  to  secure  a  mutual  support. 
The  study  of  a  topic  not  only  as  it  is  affected  by  others 
in  the  same  subject,  but  also  by  facts  and  principles  in 
other  studies,  as  an  antidote  against  superficial  learning. 
In  tracing  these  causal  relations,  in  observing  the  resem- 
blances  and  analogies,  the  interdependence  of  studies,  as 
geography,  history,  and  natural  science,  a  thoughtfulness 
and  clearness  of  insight  are  engendered  quite  contrary  to 
loose  and  shallow  study. 

Secondly,  concentration  at  once  discards  the  idea  of 
encyclopedic  knt)\vledge  as  an  aim  of  school  education. 
It  puts  a  higher  estimate  upon  related  ideas  and  a  lower 
one  upon  that  of  complete  or  encyclopedic  information. 
All  the  cardinal  branches  of  education  indeed  shall  be 
taught  in  the  school,  but  only  the  essential,  the  ty2)ical, 
will  be  selected  and  an  exhaustive  knowledge  of  any  sub- 


102  GENERAL  METHOD. 

ject  is  out  of  the  question.  Concentration  will  put  a  con- 
stant check  upon  over-accumulation  of  facts,  and  will 
rather  seek  to  strengthen  an  idea  by  association  with 
familiar  things  than  to  add  a  new  fact  to  it.  No  matter 
how  thorough  and  enthusiastic  a  specialist  one  may  be, 
he  is  called  upon  to  curtail  the  quantity  of  his  subject 
and  bring  it  into  proper  dependence  upon  other  studies. 
Historicalh/  considered  the  principle  of  concentration 
has  been  advocated  and  emphasized  by  many  writers  and 
teachers.  The  most  striking  and  decided  attempt  to  ap- 
ply it  was  made  by  Jacotot  in  the  first  quarter  of  this 
century,  and  had  great  success  in  France.  Mr.  Joseph 
Payne,  in  interpreting  Jacotot  (Lectures  on  the  Science 
and  Art  of  Ed.  p.  339),  lays  down  as  his  main  precept, 
'■'■Learn  sometfmig  thoroughly  and  refer  everything  else  to 
it."  He  emphasized  above  everything  else  clearness  of 
insight  and  connection  between  the  parts  of  knowledge. 
It  was  principally  applied  to  the  study  of  languages  and 
called  for  perfect  memorizing  by  incessant  repetition  and 
rigid  questioning  by  the  teacher  to  insure  perfect  under- 
standing, in  the  first  instance,  of  new  facts  acquired;  and 
secondly,  firm  association  with  all  previous  knowledge. 
Jacotot  and  his  disciples  reached  notable  results  by  an 
heroic  and  consistent  application  of  this  principle  and 
some  of  our  present  methods  in  language  are  based  upon 
it.  But  on  the  whole  th5  principle  was  only  partially 
and  mechanically  applied.  Its  aim  was  primarily  intel- 
lectual, even  linguistic,  not  moral.  There  was  no  philo- 
sophical effort  made  to  determine  the  relative  value  of 
studies  and  thus  find  out  what  study  or  series  of  studies 
best  deserved  to  take  the  leading  place  in  the  school 
course.  The  importance  of  interest,  as  a  means  of  rous- 
ng  mental  vigor  and  as  a  criterion  for  selecting  concen- 


CONCENTRATION.  103 

trating  materials  suited  to  children  at  different  ages,  was 
overlooked. 

A  kind  of  concentration  has  long  been  practiced  in 
Germany  and  to  a  considerable  extent  in  our  own  schools 
which  is  known  as  the  concentric  circles. 

In  our  schools  it  is  illustrated  by  the  treatment  of 
geography,  grammar,  and  history.  In  beginning  the 
study  of  geography  in  the  third  or  fourth  grade  it  has 
been  customary  to  outline  the  whole  science  in  the  first 
primary  book.  The  earth  as  a  whole  and  its  daily  and 
yearly  motion,  the  chief  continents  and  oceans,  the  gen- 
eral geographical  notions,  mountain,  lake,  river,  etc.,  are 
briefly  treated  by  definition  and  illustration.  Having 
comjileted  this  general  framework  of  geographical 
knowledge  during  the  first  year,  the  second  year,  or  at 
least  the  second  book,  takes  up  the  scone  round  of  topics 
again  and  enters  into  a  somewhat  fuller  treatment  of 
continents,  countries,  states,  and  political  divisions. 
The  last  two  years  of  the  common  school  may  be  spent 
upon  a  large,  complete  geography;  which,  with  larger, 
fuller  maps  and  more  names,  gives  also  a  more  detailed 
account  of  cities,  products,  climate,  political  divisions, 
and  commerce.  Finally,  physical  geography  is  permitted 
to  spread  over  much  the  same  ground  from  a  natural- 
science  standpoint,  giving  many  additional  and  interest- 
ing facts  and  laws  concerning  zones,  volcanoes,  ocean- 
beds  and  currents,  atmospheric  phenomena,  geologic  his- 
tory, etc.  The  same  earth,  the  same  lands  and  oceans, 
furnish  the  outline  in  each  case,  and  we  travel  over  the 
same  ground  three  or  four  times  successively,  each  time 
adding  new  facts  to  the  original  nucleus.  There  is  an 
old  proverb  that  "repetition  is  the  mother  of  studies," 
and  here  we  have  a  systematic  plan  for  repetition,  ex- 


10 


104  R  0  (iENERAL  METHOD. 


tending  through  the  school  course,  with  the  advantage  of 
new  and  interesting  facts  to  add  to  the  grist  each,  time 
it  is  sent  through  the  mill.  It  is  an  attractive  plan  at 
first  sight,  but  if  we  appeal  to  experience,  are  we  not 
reminded  rather  that  it  was  dull  repetition  of  names, 
boundaries,  map  questions,  location  of  places,  etc.,  and 
after  all  not  much  detailed  knowledge  was  gained  even 
in  the  higher  grades?  Again,  is  it  not  contrary  to  reason 
to  begin  with  definitions  and  general  notions  in  the  lower 
grades  and  end  up  with  the  interesting  and  concrete  in 
the  higher? 

In  language  lessons  and  grammar  it  has  been  cus- 
tomary to  learn  the  kinds  of  sentence  and  the  parts  of 
speech  in  a  simple  form  in  the  third  and  fourth  grades 
and  in  each  succeeding  year  to  review  these  topics,  grad- 
ually enlarging  and  expanding  the  definitions,  inflections, 
and  constructions  into  a  fuller  etymology  and  syntax. 
In  United  States  history  we  are  beginning  to  adopt  a 
similar  plan  of  repetitions,  and  the  frequent  reviews  in 
arithmetic  are  designed  to  make  good  the  lack  of  thor- 
oughness and  mastery  which  should  characterize  each 
successive  grade  of  work.  The  course  of  religious  in- 
struction given  in  European  schools  is  based  upon  the 
same  reiteration  year  by  year  of  essential  religious  ideas. 
The  whole  plan,  as  illustrated  by  different  studies,  is 
based  upon  a  successive  enlargement  of  a  subject  in  con- 
centric circles  with  the  implied  constant  repetition  and 
strengthening  of  leading  ideas.  A  framework  of  import- 
ant notions  in  each  branch  is  kept  before  the  mind  year 
after  year,  repeated,  explained,  enlarged,  with  faith  in  a 
constantly  increasing  depth  of  meaning.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  under  good  teaching  the  principle  of  the  con- 
centric circles  produces  some  excellent  fruits,  a  mastery 


CONCENTRATION.  105 

of  the  subject,   and  a  concentration  of  ideas  within  the    / 
limits  of  a  single  study.  a^    ^ 

The  disciples  of  Herbart,  while  admitting  the  merits  '  n., 
of  the  concentric  circles,  have  subjected  the  plan  to  a 
severe  criticism.  They  say  it  begins  with  general  and 
abstract  notions  and  puts  off  the  interesting  details  to 
the  later  years,  while  any  correct  method  with  children 
will  take  the  interesting  particulars  first,  will  collect 
abundant  concrete  materials,  and  by  a  gradual  process  of 
comparison  and  induction  reach  the  general  principles 
and  concepts  at  the  close.  It  inevitably  leads  to  a  dull 
and  mechanical  repetition  instead  of  cultivating  an  inter- 
esting comparison  of  new  and  old  and  a  thoughtful  retro- 
spect. It  is  a  clumsy  and  distorted  application  of  the 
principle  of  apperception,  of  going  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown.  Instead  of  marching  forward  into  new 
fields  of  knov/ledge  with  a  proper  basis  of  supplies  in  con- 
quered fields,  it  gleans  again  and  again  in  fields  already 
harvested.  For  this  reason  it  destroys  a  proper  interest 
by  hashing  up  the  same  old  ideas  year  after  year.  Finally 
the  concentric  circles  are  not  even  designed  to  bring  the 
different  school  studies  into  relation  to  each  other.  At 
best  they  contribute  to  a  more  thorough  mastery  of  each 
study.  They  leave  the  separate  branches  of  the  course 
isolated  and  unconnected,  an  aggregation  of  unrelated 
thought  complexes.  True  concentration  should  leave 
them  an  organic  whole  of  intimate  knowledge-relations, 
conducing  to  strength  and  unity  of  character. 

There  is  a  growing  conviction  among  teachers  that 
we  need  a  closer  articulation  of  studies  with  one  another. 
The  expansion  of  the  school  course  over  new  fields  of 
knowledge  and  the  multiplication  of  studies  already  dis- 
cussed  compels  us  to    seek    for  a  simplification  of    the 


lOG  GENERAL  METHOD. 

course.  A  hundred  years  ago,  yes,  even  fifty  years  ago, 
it  was  thought  that  the  extension  of  our  territory  and 
government  to  the  present  limits  would  be  impossible. 
It  was  plainly  stated  that  one  government  could  never 
hold  together  people  so  widely  separated.  Mr.  Fiske  says: 
(The  Critical  Period  of  Am.  Hist.,  p.  60)  "Even  with 
all  other  conditions  favorable,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  Ameri- 
can Union  could  have  been  preserved  to  the  present  time 
without  the  railroad.  Railroads  and  telegraphs  have  made 
our  vast  country,  both  for  political  and  for  social  pur- 
poses, more  snug  and  compact  than  little  Switzerland  was 
in  the  middle  ages  or  New  England  a  century  ago."  The 
analogy  between  the  realm  of  government  and  of  knowl- 
edge is  not  at  all  complete  but  it  suggests  at  least  the 
change  which  is  imperatively  called  for  in  education.  In 
education  as  well  as  in  commerce  there  must  be  trunk 
lines  of  thought  which  bring  the  will  as  monarch  of  the 
mind  into  close  communication  with  all  the  resources  of 
knowledge  and  experience.  Indeed  in  the  mind  of  a  child 
or  of  an  adult  there  is  much  stronger  necessity  for  central- 
ization than  in  the  government  and  commerce  of  a  coun- 
try. The  will  should  be  an  undisputed  monarch  of  the 
whole  mental  life.  It  is  the  one  center  where  all  lines  of 
communication  meet.  London  is  not  so  perfect  a  center 
for  the  commerce  and  finance  of  England  as  is  the  con- 
scious ego  (smaller  than  a  needle's  point}  for  all  its  forms 
of  experience. 

Besides  the  central  trunk  lines  of  knowledge  in  his- 
tory and  natural  science  there  are  branches  of  study 
which  are  tributary  to  them,  which  serve  also  as  con- 
necting chains  between  more  important  subjects.  Read- 
ing, for  instance,  is  largely  a  relative  study.  Not  only  is 
the  art  of  reading  merely  a  preparation  for  a  better  ap- 


CONCENTRATION.  107 

preciation  of  history,  geography,  arithmetic,  etc.,  but 
even  the  subject-matter  of  reading  lessons  is  now  made 
largely  tributary  to  other  studies.  The  supplementary 
readers  consist  exclusively  of  interesting  matter  bearing 
upon  geography,  history,  and  natural  science.  It  is  a 
fact  that  reading  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  relative 
study,  and  selections  are  regularly  made  to  bear  on  other 
school  work.  Geography  especially  serves  to  establish  a 
network  of  connections  between  other  kinds  of  knowledge. 
It  is  a  very  important  supplement  to  history.  In  fact 
history  cannot  dispense  with  its  help.  Geography  lessons 
are  full  of  natural  science,  as  with  plants,  animals,  rocks, 
climate,  inventions,  machines,  and  races.  Indeed  there 
are  few  if  any  school  studies  which  should  not  be  brought 
into  close  and  important  relations  to  geography.  Again 
the  more  important  historical  and  scientific  branches  not 
only  receive  valuable  aid  from  the  tributary  studies  but 
they  abundantly  supply  such  aid  in  return.  Language 
lessons  should  receive  all  their  subject-matter  from  his- 
tory and  natural  science.  While  the  language  lessons  are 
working  up  such  rich  and  interesting  materials  for  pur- 
poses of  oral  and  written  language,  the  more  important 
branches  are  also  illustrated  and  enriched  by  the  new 
historical  and  scientific  subjects  thus  incidentally  treated. 
An  examination  of  these  mutual  relations  and  courte- 
sies between  studies  may  discover  to  us  the  fact  that  we  i- 
are  now  unconsciously  or  thoughtlessly  duplicatiny  the 
work  of  education  to  a  surprising  extent.  For  example, 
by  isolating  language  lessons  and  cutting  them  oflf  from 
communication  with  history,  geography,  and  natural  sci- 
ence, we  make  a  double  or  triple  series  of  lessons  neces- 
sary where  a  single  series  would  answer  the  purpose. 
Moreover,  by  excluding  an  interesting  subject-matter  de- 


108  GENERAL  METHOD. 

rived  from  other  studies,  the  interest  and  mental  life 
awakened  by  language  lessons  are  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
Interest  is  not  only  awakened  by  well  selected  matter 
taken  from  other  branches  but  the  relationships  themselves 
between  studies,  whether  of  cause  and  effect  as  between 
history  and  geography,  or  of  resemblance  as  between  the 
classifications  in  botany  and  grammar — the  relations 
themselves  are  matters  of  unusual  interest  to  children. 

Many  teachers  have  begun  to  realize  in  some  degree 
the  value  of  these  relations,  their  effect  in  enlivening 
studies,  and  the  better  articulation  of  all  kinds  of  knowl- 
edge in  the  mind.  But  as  yet  all  attempts  among  us  to, 
properly  relate  studies  are  but  weak  and  ineffective  ap- 
proaches toward  the  solution  of  the  great  problem  of  con- 
centration. The  links  that  now  bind  studies  together  in 
our  work  are  largely  accidental  and  no  great  stress  has 
been  laid  upon  their  value,  but  if  concentration  is  grap- 
pled with  in  earnest  it  involves  relatiojis  at  every  step. 
Not  only  are  the  principal  and  tributary  branches  of 
knowledge  brought  into  proper  conjunction,  but  there  is 
constant  forethought  and  afterthought  to  bring  each  new 
topic  into  the  company  of  its  kindred,  near  and  remote. 
The  mastery  of  any  topic  or  subject  is  not  clear  and  sat- 
isfactory till  the  grappling  hooks  that  bind  it  to  the  other 
kinds  of  knowledge  are  securely  fastened. 

Concentration  on  a  large  scale  and  with  consistent 
thoroughness  has  been  attempted  in  recent  years  by  the 
scholars  and  teachers  of  the  Herbart  school.  It  is  based 
upon  moral  character  as  the  highest  aim,  and  upon  a  cor- 
relation of  studies  which  attributes  a  high  moral  value  to 
historical  knowledge  and  consequently  places  a  series  of 
historical  materials  in  the  center  of  the  school  course. 
The  ability  of  the  school  to  affect  moral  character  is  not 


CONCENTRATION.  lOfi 

limited  to  the  personal  influence  of  the  teacher  and  to 
the  discipline  and  daily  conduct  of  the  children;  but  ia- 
struction  itself,  by  illustrating  and  implanting  moral 
ideas,  and  by  closely  'relating  all  other  kinds  of  knowl- 
edge to  the  historical  series,  can  powerfully  affect  moral 
tendency  and  strength.  If  historical  matter  of  the  most 
interesting  and  valuable  kind  be  selected  for  the  central 
series,  and  the  natural  sciences  and  formal  studies  be 
closely  associated  with  it,  there  will  be  harmony  and 
union  between  the  culture  elements  of  the  school  course. 

The  Culture  Epochs. 

The  problem  that  confronts  us  at  the  outset,  when 
preparing  a  plan  of  concentration,  is  hoio  to  select  the 
best  historical  (moral  educative)  materials,  which  are  to 
serve  as  the  central  series  of  the  course.  The  atlture 
epochs  (cultur-historische  Stufen)  are,  according  to  the 
•Herbartians,  the  key  to  the  situation.  (This  subject  was 
briefly  discussed  under  Interest.) 

According  to  the  theory  of  the  culture  epochs,  the 
child,  in  its  growth  from  infancy  to  maturity,  is  an  epi- 
tome of  the  world's  history  and  growth  in  a  profoundly 
significant  sense  for  the  purpose  of  education.  From  the 
earliest  history  of  society  and  of  arts,  from  the  first 
simple  family  and  tribal  relations,  and  from  the  time  of 
the  primitive  industries,  there  has  been  a  series  of  up- 
ward steps  toward  our  present  state  of  culture  (social, 
political,  and  economic  life).  Some  of  the  periods  of  pro- 
gress have  been  typical  for  different  nations  or  for  the 
whole  race;  for  example,  the  stone  age,  the  age  of  bar- 
barism, the  age  of  primitive  industries,  the  age  of  no- 
mads, the  heroic  age,  the  age  of  chivalry,  the  age  of  des- 


no  GENERAL  METHOD. 

potism,  the  age  of  conquest,  wars  of  freedom,  the  age  of 
revolution,  the  commercial  age,  the  age  of  democracy,  the 
age  of  discovery,  etc.  What  relation  the  leading  epochs 
of  progress  in  the  race  bear  to  the  steps  of  change 
and  growth  in  children,  has  become  a  matter  of  great  in- 
terest in  education.  The  assumption  of  \A\q  culture  epochs 
is  that  the  growth  of  moral  and  secular  ideas  in  the  race, 
represented  at  its  best,  is  similar  to  their  growth  in  chil- 
dren, and  that  children  may  find  in  the  representative 
historical  periods  select  materials  for  moral  and  intellec- 
tual nurture  and  a  natural  access  to  an  understanding  of 
our  present  condition  of  society.  /  The  culture  epochs  are 
those  representative  periods  in  nistory  which  are  sup- 
posed to  embody  the  elements  of  culture  suited  to  train 
the  young  upon  in  their  successive  periods  of  growth. 
Goethe  says,  "Childhood  must  always  begin  again  at  the 
first  and  pass  through  the  epochs  of  the  world's  culture." 
Herbart  says,  "The  whole  of  the  past  survives  in  each  of 
US;"  and  again,  "The  receptivity  (of  the  child)  changes 
continually  with  progress  in  years.  It  is  the  function  of 
the  teacher  to  see  to  it  that  these  modifications  advance 
steadily  in  agreement  with  these  changes  (in  the  world's 
history)."  Ziller  has  attempted  more  fully  to  "justify 
this  culture-historical  course  of  instruction  on  the  ground 
of  a  certain  predisposition  of  the  child's  mental  growth 
for  this  course."  Again,  "We  are-  to  let  children  pass 
through  the  culture  development  of  mankind  with  accel- 
erated speed."  Herbart  says,  "The  treasure  of  advice 
and  warning,  of  precept  and  principle,  of  transmitted 
laws  and  institutions,  which  earlier  generations  have  pre- 
pared and  handed  down  to  the  latter,  belongs  to  the 
strongest  of  psychological  forces."  That  is,  choice  his- 
torical illustrations   produce  a   weighty  effect  upon  the 


CONCENTRATION.  Ill 

minds  of  children,  if  selected  from  those  epochs  which 
correspond  to  a  child's  own  periods  of  growth. 

The  culture  epochs  imply  an  intimate  union  between 
history  and  natural  science,  the  two  main  branches  of 
knowledge,  at  every  step.  The  isolation  between  these 
studies,  which  has  often  appeared  and  is  still  strong,  is 
unnatural  and  does  violence  to  the  unity  of  education 
historically  considered.  Men  at  all  times  have  had  phys- 
ical nature  in  and  around  them.  Every  child  is  an  inti- 
mate blending  of  historical  and  physical  (natural  science) 
elements.  The  culture  epochs  illustrate  a  constant  change 
and  expansion  of  history  and  Jiatural  science  together  and 
in  harmony  (despite  the  conflict  between  them).  As  men 
have  progressed  historically  and  socially  from  age  to  age 
their  interpretation  of  nature  has  been  modified  with 
growing  discovery,  insight,  invention,  and  utilization  of 
her  reso'arces.  Children  also  pass  through  a  series  of 
metamorphoses  which  are  both  physical  and  psycholog- 
ical, changing  temper  and  mental  tendency  as  the  body 
increases  in  vigor  and  strength. 

The  culture  epochs,  by  beginning  well  back  in  history, 
with  those  early  epochs  which  correspond  to  a  child's 
early  years  and  tracing  up  the  steps  of  progress  in  their 
origin  and  growth,  pave  the  way  for  a  clear  Insight  into 
our  present  state  of  culture,  which  is  a  comple.x  of  his- 
torical and  natural  science  elements.  It  is  comparatively 
easy  for  us  to  see  that  to  understand  the  present  politi- 
cal, economic,  and  social  conditions  of  the  United  States 
we  are  compelled  to  go  back  to  the  early  settlements 
with  their  simple  surroundings  and  slowly  trace  up  the 
growth  and  increasing  complexity  of  government,  re- 
ligion, commerce,  manufactures,  and  social  life.  The 
theory  of  the  culture  epochs  implies  that  the  child  began 


112  (GENERAL  METHOD. 

where  primitive  man  began,  feels  as  he  felt,  and  ad- 
vances us  he  advanced,  only  with  more  rapid  strides; 
that  as  his  physique  is  the  hereditary  outcome  of  thou- 
sands of  years  of  history,  and  his  physical  growth  the 
epitome  of  that  development,  so  his  mental  progress  is 
related  to  the  mind  progress  of  his  ancestry.  They  go 
still  further  and  assume  that  the  subject-matter  of  the 
leading  epochs  is  so  well  adapted  to  the  changing  phases 
and  impulses  of  child  life  that  there  is  a  strong  predis- 
position in  children  in  favor  of  this  course,  and  that  the 
series  of  historical  object  lessons  stirs  the  strongest  in- 
tellectual and  moral  interests  into  life. 

As  a  theory  the  culture  epochs  may  seem  too  loose 
and  unsubstantial  to  serve  as  the  basis  for  such  a  serious 
undertaking  as  the  education  of  children  to  moral  charac- 
ter. There  is  probably  no  exact  agreement  as  to  what 
the  leading  epochs  of  the  world's  history  are,  nor  of  the 
true  order  of  succession  even  of  those  epochs  which  can 
be  clearly  seen.  The  value  of  this  theory  is  rather  in  its 
suggestiveness  to  teachers  in  their  efforts  to  select  suit- 
able historical  materials  for  children  not  in  any  exact 
order  but  approximately.  So  far  as  we  are  informed  no 
one  has  yet  tried  to  prove,  in  logical  form,  the  necessary 
correspondence  between  the  epochs  of  history  and  the 
periods  of  growth  in  children.  It  is  rather  an  instinct 
which  has  been  felt  and  expressed  by  many  great  writers. 
The  real  test  of  the  value  of  this  theory  is  not  so  much  in 
a  positive  argument  as  in  a  general  survey  of  the  educa- 
tional materials  furnished  by  the  historical  epochs,  and 
an  experimental  use  of  them  in  schools  to  see  whether 
they  are  suited  to  the  periods  of  child  growth. 

There  are,  however,  certain  limits  to  the  theory  of 
race  progress  that  need  to  be  drawn  at  once.     It  is  easy 


I 


CUNCENTIIA  riON.  113 

to  perceive  that  not  all  races  have  left  such  epochs  be- 
hind them,  because  some  are  still  in  barbarism;  others 
liave  advanced  to  a  considerable  height  and  then  retro- 
graded. Of  those  which  have  advanced  with  more  or 
less  steadiness  for  two  thousand  years,  like  England, 
France,  and  Germany,  not  every  period  of  their  history 
contains  valuable  culture  elements.  The  great  epochs 
are  not  clearly  distinguishable  in  their  origin  and  ending. 
Again,  only  those  periods  whose  deeds,  spirit,  and  ten- 
dency have  been  well  preserved  by  history  or,  still  bet- 
ter, have  found  expression  in  the  work  of  some  great 
poet  or  literary  artist,  can  supply  for  children  the  best 
educative  material. 

The  culture  epochs  of  history  can  be  of  no  service  to  us 
in  schools  except  as  they  have  been  suitably  described  by 
able  writers.  In  history  and  literature,  as  handed  down 
to  us  by  the  great  literary  artists,  many  of  the  culture 
t^pochs  have  been  portrayed  by  a  master  hand.  In  the 
Iliad,  Homer  gives  us  vivid  and  delightfully  attractive 
scenes  from  life  in  the  heroic  age.  The  historical 
parts  of  the  Old  Testament  furnish  clear  and  classic  ex- 
pression to  great  typical  historical  scenes  as  illustrated 
in  the  lives  of  Abraham,  Joseph,  Moses,  Joshua,  David, 
and  Solomon.  The  chief  poets  have  expended  a  full  meas- 
ure of  their  art  i.i  presenting  to  posterity  attractive 
events  from  striking  epochs  of  the  world's  history.  Homer, 
Virgil,  Dante,  Tennyson,  and  Longfellow  have  left  for  us 
such  historical  paintings  as  the  Iliad,  Odyssey,  the  yEneid, 
the  Divine  Comedy,  Idyls  of  a  King,  Miles  Standish,  etc. 
Some  of  the  best  historians  also  have  described  such 
epochs  of  history  in  scarcely  less  attractive  form.  Xeno- 
phon's  Anabasis,  Livy's  Punic  Wars,  Plutarch's  Lives, 
Caesar's  Gallic  Wars,  the  best  biographies  of  Charlemagne 


114  GENERAL  METHOD. 

Columbus,  Luther,  Cromwell,  Washinc^ton,  are  designed 
to  give  us  a  clear  view  of  some  of  the  great  typical  charac- 
ters and  events  of  history.  Some  of  the  leading  novel- 
ists and  imaginative  writers  in  prose  have  performed  a 
like  sorvico.  Hypatia,  I  van  hoe.  Last  Days  of  Pompeii, 
Ilomola,  Uarda,  and  Robinson  Crusoe  are  examples. 
The  story  of  Siegfried,  of  King  Arthur,  of  Bayard,  of 
Tell,  of  Bruce,  of  Alfred,  and  the  heroic  myths  of 
Greece,  all  bring  out  representative  figures  of  the  myth- 
ical age. 

The  typical  epochs  of  the  world's  struggle  and  pro- 
gress are  reflected,  therefore,  in  the  literary  masterpieces 
of  great  writers,  whether  poets,  historians,  biographers, 
or  novelists.  The  simplest  and  choicest  of  these  literary 
and  historical  materials,  selected,  arranged,  and  adapted 
for  children,  have  been  regarded  by  some  thinkers  as  the 
strongest  and  best  meat  that  can  be  supplied  to  chilcireti 
during  their  periods  of  growth.  The  history  of  each  nation 
that  has  had  a  progressive  civilization  contains  some  such 
elements  and  masterpieces.  It  would  be  fortunate  for 
each  nation  if  it  could  find  first  in  its  own  history  all  such 
leading  epochs  and  corresponding  materials.  Then  it 
could  draw  upon  the  historical  and  literary  resources  of 
other  countries  to  complete  and  round  out  the  horizon  of 
thought. 

Since  the  best  materials  selected  from  history  are 
calculated  to  build  a  strong  foundation  of  moral  ideas 
and  sentiments,  this  carefully  selected  historical  series 
of  studies  has  been  chosen  as  the  basis  for  a  concentra- 
tion of  all  the  studies  of  the  school  course.  Ziller,  as  a 
disciple  of  Herbart,  was  the  first  to  lay  out  a  course  of 
study  for  the  common  school  with  history  materials  as  a 
central  series,  based  upon  the  idea  of  the  cultui-e  epochs. 


CONCENTRATION.  iHS 

Since  religious  instruction  drawn  from  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  has  always  been  an  important  study  in  Ger- 
man schools,  he  established  a  double  historical  series. 
The  first  was  scriptural,  representing  the  chief  epochs  of 
Jewish  and  Christian  history  from  the  time  of  Abraham 
to  the  Reformation;  the  second  was  national  Oorman  his- 
tory from  the  early  traditional  stories  of  Thuringia  and 
the  Saxon  kings  down  to  the  Napoleonic  wars  and  the 
entry  of  Emperor  William  into  Paris  in  1871.  It  should 
be  remarked  that  in  the  first  and  second  grade  re- 
ligious instruction  does  not  appear  in  regular  form,  but 
in  devotional  exercises,  Christmas  stories,  etc.  Fairy 
stories  and  Robinson  Crusoe  are  the  chief  materials 
used  in  the  first  and  second  grades,  so  that  the  regular 
historical  series  begin  in  the  third. 

The  two  lines  of  religious  and  secular  history  are  de- 
signed to  illustrate  for  each  grade  corresponding  epochs 
of  national  history,  both  Jewish  and  German.  The 
parallel  series  stand  as  follows: 

Reltgioxis.  Secular. 

1st  Grade.  Fairytales. 

2nd  Grade.  Robinson  Crusoe. 

3d  Grade.  The    patriarchs,  Abra-    Stories  of  Thuringia. 
ham,  Joseph,  Moses. 

4th  Grade.  Judges      and     Kintrs.     Tiie  Nibelungen  Song,  Sieg- 
Saniuel,  Saul,   David,  Solomon.         fried. 

5th  Grade.   Life  of  Christ.  *       Henry  I.,  Charlemagne,  Bon- 

iface, Armenius. 

till;  Grade.  Life  of  Christ.  Teutonic     migrations.     Cru- 

sades, Attila,   Harbarossa, 
Rudolph. 

7th  Grade.   Life  of  Taul.  Discovery  of   America,   Ref- 

ormation,    Thirty     Years' 
War. 

8th  Grade.  Life  of  Luther.  Frederick   the  Great,    Wars 

against     Napoleon,      Wil- 
liam L 


116  GENERAL  METIIOn. 

The  above  outline  is  Ziller's  plan,  modified  by  Pro- 
fessor Rein. 

In  eacii  grade  is  selected  a  body  of  classical  or  choice 
historical  materials,  representing  a  great  period  of  Ger- 
man as  well  as  of  Jewish  or  Christian  life,  and  especially 
suited  to  interest  and  instruct  children,  while  illustrat- 
ing moral  ideas  and  deepening  moral  convictions.  The 
body  of  historical  narrative  selected  for  any  one  grade  is 
calculated  to  form  a  center  or  nucleus  for  concentrating 
all  the  studies  of  that  year.  Reading,  language,  geog- 
raphy, drawing,  music,  and  arithmetic  largely  spring  out 
of  and  dej)end  upon  this  historical  center,  while  they  are 
also  bound  to  ea<'h  other  by  many  links  of  connection. 
A  full  course  for  the  eight  grades  of  the  common  school, 
with  this  double  historical  series  as  a  nucleus,  has  been 
carefully  worked  out  and  applied  by  Professor  Rein  and 
his  associates.  It  has  been  applied  also  with  consider- 
.ible  success  in  a  number  of  German  schools. 

This  great  undertaking  has  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of 
a  severe  criticisni.  Its  fundamental  principles,  as  well  as 
its  details  of  execution,  have  been  sharply  questioned.  But 
a  long-continued  elTort.  extending  through  many  years, 
by  able  and  thoroughly-equipped  teachers,  to  solve  one  of 
the  greatest  problems  of  education,  deserves  careful 
attention.  The  general  theory  of  concentration,  the 
selection  and  value  of  the  materials,  the  previous  history 
of  method,  and  the  best  present  method  of  treating  each 
subject,  with  detailed  illustrations,  are  all  worked  out 
with  great  care  and  ability. 

The  Jewish  and  German  historical  materials,  which 
are  made  the  moral-educative  basis  of  the  common  school 
course  by  the  Herbartians,  can  be  of  no  service  to  us 
except  by  way  of  example.      Neither  sacred  nor  German 


CONCENTRATION.  117 

history  can  form  any  important  part  of  an  American 
course  of  study.  Religious  instruction  has  been  rele- 
gated to  the  church,  and  German  history  touches  us 
indirectly-if  at  all.  The  epochs  of  history  from  which 
American  schools  must  draw  are  chiefly  those  of  the 
United  states  and  Great  Britain.  France,  Germany. 
Italy,  and  Greece  may  furnish  some  collateral  matter,  as 
the  story  of  Tell,  of  Siegfried,  of  Alaric,  and  of  Ulysses; 
but  some  of  the  leading  epochs  must  be  those  of  our  own 
national  history. 

Has  the  English-speakinff  race  in  North  America 
passed  through  a  series  of  historical  epochs  which,  on 
account  of  their  moral-educative  worth,  deserve  to  stand 
in  the  center  of  a  common  school  course?  Is  this  history 
adapted  to  cultivate  the  highest  moral  and  intellectual 
qualities  of  children  as  they  advance  from  year  to  year? 
There  are  few,  if  any,  single  nations  whose  history  could 
furnish  a  favorable  answer  to  this  question.  The  English 
in  America  began  their  career  so  late  in  the  world's  his- 
torj'  and  with  such  advantages  of  previous  European  cul- 
ture that  several  of  the  earlier  historical  epochs  are  not 
represented  in  our  country.  But  perhaps  Great  Britain 
and  Europe  will  furnish  the  earlier  links  of  a  chain  whose 
later  links  were  firmly  welded  in  America. 

The  hhtory  of  our  country  since  the  first  settlements 
less  than  three  hundred  years  ago  is  by  far  the  best  epi- 
tome of  the  world's  progress  in  its  later  phases  that  the 
life  of  any  nation  presents.  On  reaching  the  new  world 
the  settlers  began  a  hand-to  hand,  tooth-and-nail  conflict 
with  hard  conditions  of  climate,  soil,  and  savage.  Tlu^ 
simple  basis  of  physical  existence  had  to  be  fought  for  on 
the  hardest  terms.  The  fact  that  everything  had  to  be 
built  up  anew  from  small  beginnings  on  a  virgin  soil  gave 


118  GENERAL  METHOD. 

an  opportunity  to  trace  the  rise  of  institutions  from  their 
infancy  in  a  Puritan  dwelling  or  in  a  town  meeting  till 
they  sjircad  and  consolidated  over  a  continent.  In  this 
short  time  the  people  have  grown  from  little  scattered 
settlements  to  a  nation,  have  experienced  an  undreamed- 
of material  expansion;  have  passed  through  a  rapid  suc- 
cession of  great  political  struggles,  and  have  had  an 
unrivaled  evolution  of  agriculture,  commerce,  manufac- 
tures, inventions,  education,  and  social  life.  All  the 
elements  of  sopiety,  material,  religious,  political,  and 
.social  have  started  with  the  day  of  small  things  and  have 
grown  up  together. 

There  is  little  in  our  history  to  appeal  to  children  be- 
low the  fourth  grade,  that  is,  below  ten  years;  but  from 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  grade  on,  American  history 
is  rich  in  moral-educative  materials  of  the  best  quality 
and  suited  to  children.  We  are  able  to  distinguish  four 
principal  epochs:  1.  The  age  of  pioneers,  the  ocean  nav- 
igators, like  Columbus,  Drake,  and  Magellan,  and  the  ex- 
plorers of  the  continent  like  Smith,  Champlain,  LaSalle, 
and  Fremont.  2.  The  period  of  settlements,  of  col'^nial 
history,  and  of  French  and  Indian  wars.  3.  The  Revolu- 
tion and  life  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation  till  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution.  4.  Self-government  under 
Ihe  Union  and  the  growth  and  strengthening  of  the  fed- 
eral idea.  While  drawing  largely  upon  general  history 
for  a  full  and  detailed  treatment  of  a  few  important  top- 
ics in  each  of  these  epochs,  we  should  make  a  still  more 
abundant  use  of  the  biographical  and  literary  materials 
furnished  by  each.  The  concentration  of  school  studies, 
with  a  historical  series  suggested  by  the  culture  e}X)chs 
as  a  basis,  would  utilize  our  American  history,  biogra- 
phy,and  literature  in  a  manner  scarcely  dreamed  of  here- 
tofore. 


CO:  fCENTRATION.  119 

We  shall  attempt  o  illustrate  briefly  this  concentra- 
tion of  studies  about /materials  selected  from  on(^  of  the 
culture  epochs.  Talgb,  for  example,  the  age  of  pioiteerg 
from  which  to  selec/  historical  subject-matter  for  chil- 
dren of  the  fourth  afnd  tifth  grades.  It  comprehends  the 
biographies  of  eminent  navigators  and  explorers,  pioneers 
on  land  and  sea.  /  It  describes  the  important  undertak- 
ings of  Columbug,  Magellan.  Cobot,  Raleigh.  Drake,  and 
others,  who  werq  daring  leaders  at  the  great  period  of 
maritime  discovery.  The  pioneer  explorers  of  New  Eng- 
land and  the  other  colonies  .bring  out  strongly  marked 
characters  in  the  preparatory  stage  of  our  earliest  his- 
tory. Smith,  Champlain,  Winthrop,  Penn.  Oglethorpe, 
Stuyvesant,  and  Washington  are  examples.  In  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  De  Soto,  La  Salle,  Boone,  Lincoln,  and 
Robertson,  are  types.  Still  farther  west  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  and  the  pioneers  of  California  complete  this  his- 
torical epoch  in  a  series  of  great  enterprises.  Most  of 
them  are  pioneers  into  new  regions  beset  with  dangers 
of  wild  beasts,  savages,  and  sickness.  A  few  are 
settlers,  the  first  to  build  cabins  and  take  possession  of 
land  that  was  still  claimed  by  red  men  and  still  covered 
with  forests.  The  men  named  were  leaders  of  small 
bands  sent  out  to  explore  rivers  and  forests  or  to  drive 
out  hostile   claimants  at   the  point  of  the  sword. 

Any  one  who  has  tried  the  effect  of  these  stories  upon 
children  of  the  fourlli  gi-ade  will  grant  that  they  touch  a 
deep  native  interest.  liut  this  must  be  a  ;^rnuineand  per- 
manent interest  to  he  of  educative  value.  Tin  uiorul quality 
'n  this  interest  is  its  virtue.  Standish,  Boone,  TjaSalle.and 
the  rest  were  stalwart  men,  whose  courage  was  keenly 
and  powerfully  tempered.  They  were  leaders  of  men  by 
virtue   of  moral   strength  and  superiority.     Their  deeds 


120  GENERAL  METHOD. 

have  the  stamp  of  heroism  and  in  ai)proving  them  the 
moral  judfrments  of  children  are  exercised  upon  noble 
material.  These  nien  and  stories  constitute  an  epoch  in 
civilization  because  they  represent  that  stage  which  just 
precedes  the  first  form  of  settled  society.  Tn  fact  .some 
of  the  stories  fall  in  the  transition  stage,  where  men 
followed  the  plow  and  wielded  the  woodman's  axe,  or 
turned  to  the  war-path  as  occasion  required.  In  every 
part  of  the  United  States  there  has  been  such  a  period, 
and  something  corresponding  to  it  in  other  countries. 
We  are  prepared  to  assume,,  therefore,  that  these  histor- 
ical materials  arouse  a  strong  interest,  implant  moral 
ideas,  and  illustrate  a  typical  epoch.  They  are  also  very 
real.  These  men,  especially  the  land  pioneers,  were  our 
own  predecessors,  traversing  the  same  rivers,  forests,  and 
prairies  where  we  now  live  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their 
hardihood  and  labor. 

Let  us  suppose  that  such  a  historical  series  of  stories 
has  its  due  share  of  time  on  the  school  program  and  that 
the  stories  are  properly  presented  by  the  teacher  and 
orally  reproduced  by  the  pupils.  Into  what  relations  shall 
the  other  studies  of  the  school  enter  to  these  historical 
materials  ?  How  shall  language,  reading,  geography, 
natural  science,  and  arithmetic  be  brought  into  the  close 
relation  to  history  required  by  the  idea  of  concentration. 

The  oral  reproduction  of  the  stories  by  the  children  is 
the  best  possible  oral  language  drill,  while  their. partial 
written  review  is  the  basis  of  much  of  the  regular  com- 
position work.  Language  lessons  on  isolated  and  uncon- 
nected topics  can  thus  be  entirely  omitted.  The  element 
of  interest  will  be  added  to  oral  and  written  language 
lessons  by  the  use  of  such  lively  stories. 

Reading  is  chiefly  tributary  to  the  historical  series. 


CONCENTRATION.  121 

Such  selections  should  be  made  (or  reading  lessons  as  will 
throw  additional  light  upon  pioneer  history  and  its  re- 
lated geography.  Descriptions  of  natural  scenery  and 
choice  selections  from  our  best  historians,  as  Irving  and 
Bancroft,  describing  events  or  men  of  this  period,  should 
be  used  for  reading  lessons.  Especially  the  best  literary 
selections  are  to  be  utilized,  as  the  Landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims, Webster's  and  Everett's  orations  at  Plymouth, 
Evangeline  and  Hiawatha,  Indian  legends  and  life.  Miles 
Standish,  The  Knickerbocker  History,  and  some  of  the 
original  papers  and  letters  of  the  early  settlers.  What- 
ever poems  or  prose  selections  from  our  best  literature 
are  found  to  bear  directly  or  indirectly  upou  pioneer 
events,  will  add  much  interest  and  beauty  to  the  whole 
subject.  A  second  series  of  reading  materials  for  these 
grades  would  be  those  masterpieces  and  traditions  of 
European  literature,  which  are  drawn  from  a  correspond- 
ing pioneer  epoch  in  those  countries;  for  example,  Sieg" 
fried  in  Germany,  Alaric  in  Italy,  and  Ulysses  in  Greece. 
A  selection  of  reading  material  along  these  lines  would 
exhibit  much  variety  of  prose  and  poetry,  history,  and 
geography.  Unity  would  be  given  to  it  by  the  spirit  and 
labors  of  a  typical  age  and  an  intimate  relation  to  history 
at  all  points  established. 

Geography  has  an  equally  close  relation  to  history 
stories.  For  these  grades  geography  and  history  cover 
the  same  geographical  regions.  Instead  of  being  totally 
isolated  from  each  other  they  should  be  purposely  laid  out 
on  parallel  lines  with  interlacing  topics.  North  America 
and  the  Atlantic  ocean  are  the  tield  of  action  in  both 
cases.  These  maritime  explorers  opened  up  the  geogra- 
phy of  this  hemisphere  at  its  most  interesting  stage.  No 
part  of    the   Atlantic  ocean  or  of    its    North    American 


122  GENERAL   METHOD. 

coasts  was  overlooked  by  the  navigators.  The  climate, 
vegetation  and  people  upon  its  islands  and  coasts  were 
curious  objects  to  European  adventurers.  The  first 
pioneers  surveyed  the  eastern  coast  and  the  adjacent 
interior  of  a  new  continent,  with  its  bays,  rivers,  forests, 
and  mountains.  The  stories  themselves  are  not  intelligible 
without  full  geographical  explanations,  and  the  personal 
interest  in  the  narratives  throws  a  peculiar  charm  upon 
the  geography. 

The  Mississippi  valley  is  a  great  field  for  both 
history  and  geography.  It  is  one  of  the  striking  phys- 
ical features  of  North  America  and  the  best  of  stories 
find  their  setting  in  this  environment.  Not  a  great 
river  of  this  region  but  is  the  scene  of  one  of  the  sto- 
ries. The  lakes  and  streams  were  the  natural  highways 
of  the  explorers  and  settlers.  The  mountains  obstructed 
their  way,  presenting  obstacles  but  not  limits  to  their 
enterprise.  The  great  forests  housed  their  game,  con- 
cealed their  enemies,  and  had  to  be  cut  down  to  make 
space  for  their  homes  and  cornfields.  The  prairies  farther 
west  were  a  camping  ground  for  them  as  well  as  for  the 
deer  and  buffalo.  There  are  no  important  physical  fea- 
tures of  the  great  valley  that  are  not  touched  more  or 
less  in  detail  by  the  stories.  It  is  the  work  of  .the  geog- 
raphy of  this  year  to  enlarge  and  complete  the  pictures 
suggested  by  the  stories,  to  multiply  details,  to  compare 
and  arrange  and  to  associate  with  these  the  facts  of  our 
present  political  and  commercial  geography. 

The  relation  between  history  and  geogi'aphy  is  so  in- 
timate that  it  requires  some  pedagogical  skill  to  deter- 
mine which  of  the  two  should  take  the  lead.  But  we 
have  already  adjudged  the  history  to  be  by  far  the  more 
important  of  the  two.      Its  subject-matter  is  of  greater 


CONCENTRATION.  l>» 

intrinsic  interest  to  children,  and  as  it  already  stands  in 
the  commanding  center  of  the  school  course,  we  are  dis- 
posed to  bring  the  geography  lessons  into  close  depend- 
ence upon  it. 

In  these  grades  natural  science  or  nature  study  form 
a  necessary  complement  to  the  circle  of  historical  and 
geographical  topics  treated.  Many  interesting  natural- 
science  subjects,  suggested  by  history  and  geography,  can 
not  be  dealt  with  satisfactorily  in  those  studies;  for  ex- 
ample, the  tobacco  plant,  the  cactus,  the  deer,  the  hot 
springs,  the  squirrel,  the  mariner's  compass.  Natural 
science  studies  begin  naturally  with  the  home  neighbor- 
hood, with  its  plants,  trees,  animals,  rocks,  inventions. 
and  products.  But  having  surveyed  and  learned  many 
of  these  things  at  home  in  his  earlier  years,  the  child  is 
prepared,  when  geography  and  history  begin,  to  extend 
his  natural-science  information  to  the  larger  geographical 
rogions. 

The  history  stories  and  geography  suggest  a  large 
number  of  natural-science  topics,  so  that  there  is  abun- 
dant choice  of  materials  while  remaining  in  close  con- 
nection with  those  studies.  The  vegetable  and  animal 
life  and  products  of  the  sea,  suggested  by  the  voyages,  are 
fishes,  dolphins,  whales,  sea-birds,  shells,  Other  topics 
are  the  construction  of  ships,  the  mariner's  compass,  and 
astronomy.  The  stories  of  the  land  pioneers  open  up  a  still 
richer  field  of  natural  science  study  for  the  common  schools. 
Among  animals  are  the  beaver,  otter,  squirrel,  coon, 
bear,  fox,  wildcat,  deer,  buffalo,  domestic  animals,  wild 
turkeys,  ducks,  pigeons,  eagle,  hawk,  wild  bees,  cat-fish, 
sword-fish,  turtle,  alligator,  and  many  more.  Among  na- 
tive products  and  fruits  are  mentioned  corn,  pumpkins, 
beans,  huckleberries,  grapes,   strawberries,   cranberries. 


134  GENERAL    METHOD. 

tobacco,  pawpaw,  mulberry,  haw,  plum,  apple,  and  per- 
simmon. Of  trees  are  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  cypress, 
pine,  birch,  beech,  and  others.  Tools,  instruments,  and 
inventions  are  mentioned,  with  their  uses,  as  guns,  Indian 
weapons,  compass,  thermometer,  barometer,  boats,  car- 
penter's tools;  also,  the  uses  of  iron,  lead,  leather,  and 
many  of  the  simple  arts  and  economies  of  life,  such  as 
weaving,  tempering  of  metals,  tanning,  and  cooking. 
The  natural  wonders  of  the  country,  such  as  falls,  caves, 
hot-springs,  canons,  salt  licks,  plains,  interior  deserts, 
and  salt  lakes,  kinds  of  rocks,  soils,  forests  and  other 
vegetation,  the  phenomena  of  the  weather  and  differences 
in  climate,  are  referred  to.  All  these  and  other  topics 
from  the  broad  realm  of  nature  are  suggested,  any  of 
which  may  serve  as  the  starting  point  for  a  series  of  sci- 
ence lessons. 

How  far  the  natural  science  lessons  can  heed  the 
suggestions  of  history  and  geography  and  still  follow  out 
and  develop  important  science  principles,  is  one  of  the 
great  problems  for  solution.  It  would  seem  that  the 
large  number  of  natural-science  topics  touched  upon  by 
the  history,  when  increased  by  the  variety  of  home  ob- 
jects in  nature  and  by  still  others  called  up  by  the  geog- 
raphy work  of  .these  years,  w-ould  give  sufficient  variety  to 
the  natural  science  work  of  the  same  period.  By  omitting 
some  of  these  topics  and  enlarging  upon  others,  develop- 
ing the  notions  of  classes  and  principles  so  far  as  is  desir- 
able, the  natural-science  lessons  may  be  made  sufficiently 
scientific  without  losing  the  close  relation  to  the  central 
subject-matter  for  the  year.  There  is  no  doubt  but  the 
science-lessons  will  add  greatly  to  many  topics  suggested 
by  the  stories  and  will  bring  the  whole  realm  of  nature 
into  close   relation  to  history  and  geography. 


CONCENTRATION.  125 

The  subjects  thus  far  discussed,  that  may  be  brought 
into  close  relation  to  the  central  stories,  are  oral  and 
written  language,  reading  and  literature,  geography,  and 
the  natural  sciences.  The  connection  between  these 
branches  are  numerous  and  strong  at  every  step.  Drawing 
has  a  very  intimate  and  important  relation  to  the  objects 
described  in  history,  natural  science,  arithmetic,  and 
geography;  while  the  songs  learned  should  express  in 
those  poetic  and  rhythmic  forms  which  appeal  so  strongly 
to  the  feelings,  many  of  the  noblest  ideas  suggested  by 
travel,  scenery,  history,  and  the  experiences  of  home  life. 

Arithinetic,  finally,  seems  to  stand  like  an  odd  sheep 
among  the  studies.  It  is  certainly  the  least  social  of  the 
tommon  school  branches.  While  avoiding  all  forced  con- 
nection between  arithmetic  and  other  studies,  we  shall 
find  some  points  where  the  relations  are  simple  and  clear. 
Children  in  the  first  grade  should  see  numbers  in  the 
leaver-,  flowers,  trees,  and  animals  they  study.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  first  grade  this  would  be  a  good  in- 
formal way  of  beginning  numbers.  The  value  of  objects 
in  first  and  second  grade  number  is  so  great  that  it  is 
only  a  question  as  to  how  far  the  objects  suggested  by 
other  lessons  may  be  used. 

But  we  are  speaking  of  concentration  in  the  fourth 
and  fifth  grades.  In  the  stories  and  in  geography  "'e 
deal  with  journeys  up  great  rivers,  with  the  height  of 
mountains,  with  the  extent  of  valleys  and  lakes,  with 
regular  forts,  mounds,  and  enclosures,  with  comjianies 
and  bodies  of  men,  with  railroads,  cities,  and  agricultural 
products,  and  with  many  other  topics  which  suggest  ex- 
cellent practical  problems  in  arithmetic  for  these  grades. 
All  such  careful  arithmetical  computations  add  clearness 
and    definiteness    to    historical  and    geographical    ideas. 


12r,  GENEUAL  METHOD. 

The  natural  sciences  have  been  so  little  systematically 
tauf^ht  in  our  common  schools,  that  we  are  scarcely  able 
to  realize  what  connection  may  be  made  between  them 
and  arithmetic.  We  know  that  in  the  advanced  study 
and  applications  of  some  of  the  natural  sciences,  mathe- 
matics is  an  essential  part. 

A  brief  retrospect  will  make  it  appear  that  the  history 
stories,  natural  sciences,  and  geography,  with  the  more 
formal  studies,  such  as  reading,  language,  and  arithmetic, 
may  be  brought  into  a  close  organic  harmony.  Each  of 
them  depends  upon  and  throws  light  upon  the  other;  and 
while  the  connections  are  natural,  not  forced,  there  is  a 
concentration  upon  the  central  historical  and  literary 
matter  that  makes  moral  character  the  highest  aim  of 
teaching. 

Since  real  concentration  is  practically  a  new  educa- 
tional undertaking,  it  involves  a  number  of  unsolved 
subordinate  problems;  for  instance,  how  far  shall  science 
lessons,  grammar,  and  geography  follow  their  own  princi- 
])les  of  selection,  based  on  the  nature  and  scientific  ar- 
rangement of  their  materials,  while  keeping  up  the  de- 
pendence upon  and  connections  with  the  central  subject. 
But  if  concentration  is  a  true  principle  of  education,  it  is 
evident  that  none  of  these  problems  can  be  solved  until 
concentration  has  been  agreed  upon  and  made  funda- 
mental. In  this  case  those  teachers  who  are  trying  to 
lay  out  courses  of  study  in  geography,  natural  science, 
or  history,  without  regard  to  the  relation  of  studies  to 
each  other,  will  have  most  of  their  work  to  do  over 
again. 

A  little  reflection  will  convince  us,  perhaps,  that  a 
years  work  thus  concentrated  will  produce  a  much  more 
powerful  and  lasting  impression  upon  children  than  the 


CONCENTRATION.  127 

loose  aggregation  of  facts  which  is  usually  collected  dur- 
ing a  year's  work.  Not  only  will  the  moral  effect  be  in- 
tensified, but  the  close  dependence  of  each  study  upon 
the  others  will  be  perceptibly  felt  as  valuable  and  stimu- 
lating to  the  children. 

If  now  we  can  conceive  of  the  eight  grades  of  the 
common  school  as  eight  stages  passing  naturally  from 
one  to  another,  each  a  unit  composed  of  a  net-work  of 
well  I'elated  facts,  but  the  epochs  closely  related  to  each 
other  in  a  rising  series,  from  childhood  almost  to  matur- 
ity, or  from  the  beginning  of  history  up  to  the  present 
state  of  culture,  we  shall  be  able  also  to  think  of  educa- 
tion as  a  succession  of  powerful  culture  influences,  that 
will  bring  the  child  to  our  present  standpoint  fully  con- 
scious of  his  duties  and  surroundings. 

Note. — A  careful  criticism  of  the  theory  of  the  culture 
epochs  is  found  in  Laoge's  Apperception  translated  by  the  Her- 
bart  club,  published  by  D.  C.  Heath,  p.  110,  etc. 


■^ 


r.'s  (JENERAL  METHOD. 


-h^ 


..^' 


fi 


CHAPTER  V. 


\x^^ 


i  >} 


INDUCTION. 


We  are  now  prepared  to  inquire  into  the  minds 
method  of  approacli  to  any  and  all  subjects.  We  have 
considered  the  aim  of  education,  the  value  of  diflFerent 
subjects  as  helping  toward  that  aim.  the  natural  interests 
which  give  zest  to  studies,  and  finally  the  general  plan 
of  combining  and  relating  topics  so  as  to  bring  about 
wnity  of  purpose  and  unity  of  matter  in  the  mind.  As  a 
child  enters  upon  the  work  of  acquisition  are  there  any 
regulatives  to  guide  the  process  of  learning? 
r~  Induction,  or  the  concept-bearing  process,  shows  the 
tendency  of  our  minds  to  advance  fi-om  the  inspection  of 
particular  objects  and  actions  to  the  understanding  of 
general  notions  or  concepts.  The  study  and  analysis 
of  this  process  casts  us  forthwith  into  the  mi^t  of  psychol- 
ogy, and  calls  for  a  knowledge  of  that  succession  and 
net-work  of  mental  activities  discussed  in  all  the  psychol- 
ogies; sensation,  discrimination,  perception,  analysis 
and  synthesis,  comparison,  judgment,  generalization  or 
concept,  reasoning.  An  inquiry  into  these  mental  activ- 
ities, which  are  among  the  most  important  in  psychology,. 
is  necessary  as  a  basis  of  induction  and  of  general  method. 
But  even  the  more  profound  study  of  psychology  does 
not  necessarily  give  insight  into  correct  methods  of 
teaching.  Many  great  psychologists  have  had  little 
or  no  interest  in  teaching.      Even  eminent  specialists  in 


INDUCTION.  V2'J 

electricity  and  chemistry  have  not  often  been  those  to 
draw  the  immediate  practical  benefit  from  their  studies. 
The  application  of  psychology  to  the  work  of  instruction 
constitutes  a  distinct  field  of  inquiry  and  experiment. 
The  output  of  the  best  experimental  thinking  in  this  di- 
rection may  be  called  pedagogy. 

The  process  of  induction  or  concept- building  leads  the 
mind,  as  above  indicated,  through  a  series  of  different 
acts.  We  may  first  observe  how  far  the  mind  is  naturally 
inclined  to  follow  this  process,  and  whether  it  is  a  mark 
of  healthy  mental  action  in  children  and  in  adults.  Later 
we  may  examine  more  closely  the  successive  stages  in  the 
process  itself. 

To  get  at  the  natural  process  it  is  well  to  observe  first 
the  action  of  a  chilcVs  mind.  By  analyzing  a  simple  case 
of  a  farmer's  child  we  ma}^  trace  the  mental  steps  in 
forming  a  general  notion.  So  long  as  it  has  seen  no  barn 
except  that  on  its  father's  farm,  the  word  barn  means  to 
it  only  that  particular  object.  But  when  it  discovers 
that  one  of  the  neighbors  has  a  similar  building  called  a 
barn,  it  learns  to  put  these  different  objects  under  one 
head,  and  the  general  notion  barn  as  a  building  for 
horses,  cattle,  and  feed,  gradually  rises  in  the  mind. 
Long  before  the  child  is  six  years  old  (school  age)  it  may 
have  seen  enough  of  such  barns  for  the  general  notion  to 
be  distinctly  formed.  By  observing  different  objects,  by 
comparing  and  grouping  similar  things  together,  it  has 
formed  a  general  notion  in  a  regular  process  of  induction, 
and  that  without  any  help  from  teachers. 

At  two  and  three  years  of  age,  or  as  soon  as  a  child 
begins  to  recognize  and  name  new  objects  (because  of 
their  resemblance  to  things  previously  seen)  this  tendency 
to    concept-building  is  manifest.      Another  illustration: 


130  GENERAL  METHOD. 

The  child  has  seen  the  family  horse  spv. 
word  horse  becomes  associated  with  tha-  ^.^^^..^ai.  rv  mm 
out  walking  it  sees  another  horse,  and  pointing  its  finger 
says  "horse."  The  memory  of  the  first  hoise  and  the 
similarity  calls  forth  the  natural  conclusion  that  this  is  a 
horse,  though  it  may  not  be  able  to  formulate  the  sen- 
tence. More  horses  are  seen  and  compared  till  the  word 
becomes  the  name  of  a  whole  class  of  animals.  By  a 
gradual  process  of  observation,  comparison,  and  judg- 
ment the  word  horse  comes  to  stand  for  a  large  group  of 
objects  in  nature. 

A  child's  mind  is  naturally  very  active  in  detecting 
resemblances  and  in  grouping  similar  objects  together. 
It  notices  that  there  are  certain  people  called  women, 
others  called  men;  that  certain  animals  are  called  sheep, 
others  cattle.  One  class  of  objects  receives  the  name 
book,  another  stove,  etc.  The  work  of  observing,  com- 
paring, and  classifying  is  a  perpetual  operation  in  the 
child's  active  moods.  In  this  way,  what  may  appear  at 
first  as  an  interminable  confusion  or  blur  of  objects  in 
nature  begins  to  fall  into  groups  and  classes  with  ap- 
propriate names.  It  is  the  child's  own  way  of  bringing 
order  out  of  the  apparent  chaos  of  his  surroundings.  All 
this  process  of  classification  is  natural  and  nearly  uncon- 
scious, and  results  in  a  better  understanding  and  inter- 
pretation of  the  things  around  him. 

Observe  next  the  work  of  an  educated  adult,  and  how 
he  increases  and  arranges  his  knowledge.  If  he  is  an  in- 
cipient dry-goods  merchant  he  learns  by  sight  and  touch 
to  detect  the  quality  of  goods.  He  compares  and  classi- 
fies his  experiences  and  becomes  in  time  an  expert  in 
judging  textile  fabrics.  On  the  other  hand  he  becomes 
acquainted   by  personal  contact  with  various  customers 


INDUCTION.  131 

and  learns  how  to  classify  and  judge  thena-both  as  buy- 
ers and  as  debtors. 

If  a  botanist  finds  a  new  plant  he  examines  its  stem, 
leaves,  root,  flower,  seed,  and  environment.  While  enter- 
ing into  these  details  he  is  also  comparing  it  with  fa- 
miliar classes  of  plants.  Finally,  he  is  not  satisfied  till 
he  can  definitely  locate  it  in  his  previous  system.  With 
every  new  plant  that  he  discovers  he  travels  over  the 
whole  road  from  the  individual  particulars  to  the  general 
classes  of  his  whole  system.  The  merchant  and  the  sci- 
entist follow  out  with  painstaking  care  and  industry  the 
same  course  which  was  involuntarily  taken  by  the  child; 
namely,  observjition  of  particiulars,  comparing  an^d^group- 
ing  into  classes.  The  same  habit  of  mind  may  be  ob- 
served in  all  people  who  are  growing  knowledgewards  and 
who  possess  any  thoughtful  instincts.  In  building  uj) 
concepts,  especially  with  the  adult,  induction  is  con- 
stantly mingled  with  deduction.  As  fast  as  general 
notions  are  formed  they  are  used  to  interpret  new  objects. 
As  the  amount  of  this  organized  and  classified  knowledge 
increases,  we  reason  more  and  more  deductively. 

In  acquiring  knowledge  along  the  line  of  induction,  we 
are  on  the  road  to  the  solution  of  the  puzzle  that  nature 
puts  to  every  child.  To  every  infant,  indeed,  the  world  is 
an  enormous  riddle  or  puzzle,  whose  parts  lie  in  fragments 
about  him,  waiting  the  operation  of  his  curious  and  in- 
ventive mind  toward  the  reconstruction  of  the  whole. 
Endless  variety  and  complexity  confront  us  all  in  the 
beginning.  There  is  indeed  an  order  and  classification  of 
things  in  nature,  but  it  does  not  appear  on  the  surface, 
and  for  centuries  men  remained  ignorant  of  the  underly- 
ing harmony.  Nature  is  full  of  valuable  secrets,  but  they 
lie  concealed   from  the  careless  eye.     They  are  to  be  de- 


132  (iENERAL  METHOD. 

tected  by  prying  deeper  into  individual  facts,  Dy  putting 
a  thing  here  and  a  thing  there  together,  by  pondering 
on  the  relationship  of  things  to  each  other  in  their  nature, 
appearance,  and  cause.  It  is  a  remarl<able  fact  that  we 
not  only  increase  knowledge  best  by  analyzing,  compar- 
ing, and  classifying  objects,  experience,  and  phenomena 
— even  into  old  age — but  that  the  deeper  we  penetrate 
into  the  individual  qualities  and  inner  nature  of  objects, 
the  more  we  extend  and  classify  our  information,  the 
simpler  all  the  operations  of  nature  become  to  our  under- 
standing. The  surprising  simplicity  and  unity  of  nature 
in  her  varied  phenomena  is  one  of  the  mature  products  of 
scientific  study.  The  most  scientific  thinker,  then,  is  only 
trying  to  reduce  to  a  simple  explanation  the  same  puzzle 
which  confronted  the  infant  in  its  cradle.  The  problem  is 
the  same  and  the  method  similar. 

It  is  plain  that  the  process  of  classifying  objects  and 
phenomena  in  nature  and  in  society  is  the  beginning  of 
scientific  knowledge.  A  child  begins  to  learn  as  soon  as 
it  notices  the  resemblances  in  things  and  arranges  them 
into  groups.  It  will  appear  later  that  the  mind  does  not 
follow  a  strictly  logical  method  in  gaining  its  groups,  that 
it  falls  into  natural  errors  and  misconceptions;  but  in 
spite  of  these  eccentric  movements,  the  general  trend  is 
toward  classifications  and  toward  the  language  symbols 
that  express  them.  In  this  poA^er  to  associate,  classify, 
and  symbolize  the  products  of  experience  in  words  is 
seen  the  marked  difference  between  man  and  the  animals. 
The  latter  have  little  power  to  compare  and  generalize, 
that  is,  to  think.  On  a  still  higher  plane,  the  difference 
between  a  careless,  loose  observer  and  a  well-trained 
scientific  thinker  is  largely  a  difference  in  accuracy,  in 
inductive  and  deductive  processes. 


INDUCTION.  133 

The  important  thing  for  the  teacher  to  determine  is 
whether  this  inductive  or  concept-building  tendency  fur- 
nishes any  solid  ground  tq^on  which  to  base  the  work  of  in- 
struction. Admitting  that  it  is  a  natural  process,  com- 
mon to  both  old  and  young  in  acquiring  knowledge,  per- 
haps it  can  be  neglected  because  it  will  take  care  of 
itself.  If  it  is  self-active,  needing  no  artificial  stimulus, 
let  it  alone.  On  the  contrary,  if  in  a  healthy  pursuit  of 
knowledge  it  brings  the  varied  mental  powers  into 
a  natural  sequence  where  they  will  strengthen  and  sup- 
port one  another,  it  should  be  studied  and  used  by 
teachers.  It  would  be  very  commonplace  to  say  that 
each  of  the  faculties  or  activities  involved  in  the  induc- 
tive process  should  be  disciplined  and  strengthened  by 
school  studies.  There  is  but  little  difference  of  .opinion 
on  this  subject,  though  some  would  lay  more  stress  upon 
sense  training,  some  on  memory,  some  on  reasoning. 
The  ground  for  this  general  conviction  is  the  notorious 
fact  that  with  children  every  one  of  these  acts,  is  per- 
formed in  z,  faulty  and  stiperficial  manner.  The  observa- 
tions of  children  are  very  careless  and  unreliable.  Even 
adults  are  extremely  negligent  and  inaccurate  in  their 
observations  of  natural  objects,  persons,  and  phenomena. 
But  the  mental  powers  brought  to  bear  in  observation 
are  simple  and  elementary.  Tlie  exercise  of  higher  men- 
tal powers,  such  as  analysis,  comparison,  judgment,  and 
reasoning,  is  prone  to  be  still  more  accidental  and  erro- 
neous. 

Acknowledging  then  the  necessity  for  training  all 
these  powers,  how  can  it  best  be  done  ?  Not  by  delegat- 
ing to  each  study  the  cultivation  of  one  kind  or  set  of 
mental  activities,  but  by  observing  that  the  same  general 
process  underlies  the  acquisition   of    knowledge    in  each 


134  GENERAL  METHOD.        ^ 

.subject,  and  that  all  the  kinds  of  mental  life  are  brought 
into  action  in  nearly  every  study.  In  short,  the  inductive 
process  is  a  natural  highway  of  human  thought  in  every 
line  of  study,  bringing  all  the  mental  forces  into  an 
orderly,  successive,  healthful  activity.  We  may  yet  dis- 
cover that  the  inductive  process  not  only  gives  the  key  to 
an  interesting  method  of  mastering  different  branches  of 
knowledge,  but  in  developing  mental  activity  it  brings 
the  various  mental  powers  into  a  strong  natural  sequence. 

One  of  the  great  ends  of  intellectual  culture  is  gradually 
to  transform  this  careless,  unconscious,  inductive  tendency 
in  children  into  the  painstaking  ayid  exact  scrutiny  of  the 
student,  and  later  of  the  specialist. 

Although  the  inductive  process  is  a  common  highway 
of  thought  in  all  stages  of  intellectual  growth  from  child- 
hood to  maturity,  certain  parts  of  the  road  are  much 
more  frequently  traveled  in  childhood,  and  still  others  in 
youth  and  maturity.  It  is  the  work  of  pedagogy  to 
adapt  its  materials  to  these  changing  phases  of  soul  life 
in  children.  In  the  analysis  of  the  inductive  and  de- 
ductive processes  we  desire  to  come  at  the  solution  of 
this  problem. 

Considered  as  a  whole,  there  is  a  simple  phase  of  the 
inductive  process  which  is  best  explained  by  the  terms 
absorption  and  reflection.'  It  appears  in  the  study  of 
simple  as  well  as  of  complex  objects,  and  indicates  clearly 
the  fundamental  rhythm  of  the  mind  in  acquiring  and 
elaborating  its  knowledge.  This  action  of  the  mind  is  a 
shuttle-like  movement,  a  constant  running  back  and 
forth  between  two  extremes,  absorption  and  reflection, 
We  will  test  this  statement  upon  examples.  When  we 
are  in  the  mood  for  learning  let  some  new  object,  a  saio- 
mili   attract  the  attention.     A  quick  general  glance  at 


INDUCTION.  13-, 

the  place  and  its  surroundings  tells  us  what  it  is.  Now 
trace  the  operation  of  the  mill  as  it  draws  up  the  logs 
singly  from  the  rafts  lying  on  the  margin  of  the  river 
and  converts  them  into  lumber.  You  observe  first  how 
the  logs  are  carried  up  an  inclined  slide  by  means  of  an 
endless  chain  with  hooks,  into  the  mill.  You  examine 
this  first  piece  of  machinery  and  notice  its  mode  of 
action.  As  the  logs  enter  the  upper  story  of  the  mill, 
they  are  thrown  by  heavy  levers  to  either  side  and  roll 
down  toward  the  saws.  Here  is  another  piece  of  ma- 
chinery in  its  proper  place.  Having  been  stripped  of  the 
loose  pieces  of  bark,  the  logs  are  grasped  by  another  set 
of  iron  hands,  lifted  firmly  to  the  carriage  and  passed  to 
the  circular  or  band-saw,  which  takes  off  the  side  slabs 
and  squares  them  for  the  gang-saw.  The  squared  logs 
are  then  carried  along  over  rollers  and  collected  before 
the  gang-saws.  From  two  to  four  of  them  are  clasped 
firmly  together  and  then  forced  up  against  the  teeth  of 
the  parallel  group  of  saws,  issuing  from  them  as  a  batch 
of  lumber.  The  boards  are  then  passed  on  to  a  set  of 
men  at  small  circular  saws,  by  whom  they  are  sorted  and 
the  edges  trimmed,  while  still  others  with  trucks  carry 
them  to  the  yard  for  stacking. 

Take  note  of  the  operation  of  the  mind  as  it  passes 
from  one  .part  of  the  machinery  to  another.  Each  part 
is  first  examined  by  itself  to  get  its  construction  and 
method.  Then  its  relation  to  what  precedes  and  what 
follows  is  noted..  Finally,  in  review  you  survey  the  whole 
process  in  its  successive  stages  and  understand  each  part 
and  its  relation  to  the  whole  and  to  the  purpose  of  the 
mill.  We  might  call  this  an  analysis  and  synthesis  of 
the  process  of  making  lumber,  or  in  other  words  absorp- 
tion and  reflection.       In  the  observation  of  such  a  com- 


i:(r,  GENERAL  METHOD. 

plex  piece  of  machinery  as  a  large  mill  the  mind  swings 
back  and  forth  many  times  between  absorption  in  the 
study  of  parts  and  reflection  upon  their  relation  to  each 
other. 

Having  examined  the  mill  in  detail  and  grasped  its 
parts  as  a  connected  whole,  the  next  step  is  to  observe 
its  relation  to  the  river,  to  the  rafts  and  rafting- boats, 
and  further  back  to  the  pineries  and  logging-camps  up 
the  river.  (Northern  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin.)  The 
occupations  and  sights  along  the  Upper  Mississippi  and 
its  head-waters,  the  pineries,  and  even  the  spring  floods, 
are  intimately  connected,  causally,  with  the  saw-mills  and 
lumber  yards  lower  down.  Or  going  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection from  the  saw-mill,  we  follow  the  lumber  till  it  is 
used  in  the  various  forms  of  construction.  Some  of  it 
enters  the  planing-mills  and  is  converted  into  moldings, 
finishing  lumber,  sashes,  blinds,  etc.  In  all  forms  it  is 
loaded  upon  the  cars,  and  shipped  westward  to  be  used 
in  the  construction  of  houses  and  bridges. 

Before  we  get  through  with  the  line  of  thought  en- 
gendered by  observing  the  saw-mill,  we  have  canvassed 
the  whole  lumber  industry  from  the  pineries  to  the  plans 
of  architects  and  builders  in  the  actual  work  of  construc- 
tion. Not  only  has  there  been  this  progress  of  the  mind 
from  one  object  or  machine  to  another  of  a  series  con- 
nected by  cause  and  effect,  but  there  has  been  also  a  con- 
stant tendency  to  pass  from  the  individual  machines  of 
which  the  series  is  composed  to  the  classes  of  which  these 
objects  are  typical.  A  circular-saw  or  a  gang-saw  is 
each  typical  of  a  class  of  saws.  The  same  is  true  of 
each  part  of  the  machinery,  as  well  as  of  the  saw-mill  or 
planing-mill  considered  as  a  whole.  Each  of  these  ob- 
jects, whether  simple  or  complex,  suggests  others  similar 


INDUCTION.  137 

which  we  have  observed  or  seen  represented  in  pictures. 
Each  part  of  the  machinery  in  turn  becomes  the  center 
of  a  set  of  comparisons  leading  from  the  concrete  object 
in  question  to  the  general  notion  of  the  class  to  which  it 
belongs.  For  example,  the  steam  engine  in  a  mill  is 
typical  of  all  stationary  engines  used  for  driving  machin- 
ery. But  the  parts  of  the  engine  are  also  typical  of  sim- 
ilar parts  in  other  engines  and  machines,  as  the  drive- 
wheel,  cylinder,  boiler,  etc. 

In  all  these  cases  we  become  absorbed  in  one  thing  for 
a  while,  only  to  recover  ourselves  and  to  reflect  upon  the 
thing  in  its  wider  relations,  either  tracing  out  connections 
of  cause  and  effect,  as  in  a  series  of  machines,  or  passing 
from  the  single  example  to  the  class  of  which  it  is  typical. 
Absorption  and  reflection  !  The  mind  swings  back  and 
forth  like  a  pendulum  between  these  two  operations. 
Herbart,  who  closely  defined  this  process,  called  it  the 
mental  act  of  breathing,  because  of  the  constancy  of  its 
movement.  As  regularly  as  the  air  is  drawn  into  the 
lungs  and  again  expelled,  so  regularly  does  the  mind  lose 
itself  in  its  absorption  with  objects  only  to  recover  itself 
and  reflect  upon  them. 

In  the  inspection  of  a  large  printimj  })ress  in  one  of 
our  newspaper  publishing-houses  we  meet  with  a  similar 
experience.  The  attention  becomes  centered  upon  the 
press  for  a  close  analysis  and  synthesis  of  its  parts.  The 
cogs,  wheels,  rollers,  inking-plate,  the  chases  for  the  type, 
the  application  of  the  power,  the  springs  and  levers,  each 
part  receives  a  close  inspection,  and  the  secret  of  its  con- 
nection with  other  parts  is  sought  for.  There  is  a  vigor- 
ous effort  not  only  to  understand  each  part  but  also  the 
connection  of  the  whole.  The  shuttle-like  movement  of 
the  mind  back  and  forth  between  the  parts,  absorbed  for 


138  GENERAL  METHOD. 

a  moment,  reflecting  for  a  moment,  continues  until  the 
complex  mechanism  is  understood.  When  this  process 
has  been  satisfactorily  completed,  we  are  ready  to  turn ' 
our  minds  again  to  the  other  objects  and  rooms  of  the 
printing  establishment.  The  work  of  the  compositors, 
setting  up  different  kinds  of  type,  the  proof-reading,  the 
editorial  work,  the  reporters,  all  come  in  for  a  share  of 
attention.  The  reporters  lead  us  to  the  great  world  out- 
side whose  happenings  are  brought  here  for  publication. 
On  the  other  hand,  following  the  distribution  of  papers 
as  they  issue  from  the  press,  we  think  of  news-boys, 
news-stands,  mail-service,  railroads,  and  postoffices.  But 
the  inspection  of  a  printing  press  also  leads  the  thoughts 
in  other  directions  and  suggests  other  presses,  great  and 
small,  in  other  times  and  places,  other  printing  establish- 
ments, until  the  whole  business  of  printing  and  publish- 
ing books  and  papers  springs  into  the  thought. 

If  we  desire  to  understand  clearly  the  business  of  pub- 
lishing a  newspaper,  we  must  enter  into  an  observation 
of  the  parts  of  the  process  from  the  collection  of  its  news 
to  its  distribution  by  the  mails  and  carriers.  Besides 
noting  these  parts  we  must  observe  their  causal  connec- 
tion with  each  other  and  the  role  that  each  plays  in  the 
economy  of  the  whole.  The  causal  series  thus  clearly 
outlined  produces  insight  into  an  occupation,  while  every 
typical  machine  or  appliance  is  one  of  a  cross  series  in- 
tercepting  the  original  series.  The  acquisition  and  assim- 
ilation of  knowledge  in  different  subjects  will  be  found 
to  exhibit  the  mental  states  of  absorption  and  reflection  as 
just  illustrated.  Observe  the  manner  in  which  we  study 
a  poem.  It  is  first  read  and  interpreted  sentence  by  sen- 
tence, glancing  from  verse  to  verse  to  get  the  connec- 
tions.    When  the  whole  piece  has  been  read  and  under- 


INDUCTION.  13!» 

stood  in  its  parts  and  connections,  the  suggested  lines  of 
thought  are  taken  up  and  followed  out  in  their  wider  ap- 
plications. Take  for  example  the  "Burial  of  Moses," 
and  in  the  proper  analysis  and  study  of  the  poem,  such 
a  process  of  absorption  and  reflection  is  observable.  In 
tracing  the  biography  of  John  Quincy  Adams  or  of  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  the  facts  of  personal  experience  and 
action  first  absorb  the  attention  from  step  to  step  in  the 
study  of  his  life.  But  reflection  on  the  bearings  of  these 
personal  events,  upon  contemporaries,  and  upon  public 
aff"airs  is  noticed  all  along.  The  same  mental  process  is 
observed  in  studying  a  battle  in  history,  a  sentence  in 
grammar,  a  squirrel  in  natural  history,  or  a  picture  in  art. 

The  effect  of  such  mental  absorption  and  reflection  is 
to  build  up  concepts.  Series  of  causally  related  parts 
are  also  formed,  but  each  series  in  the  end  becomes  a  more 
complete  complex  concept;  that  is,  a  representative  of 
many  similar  series.  The  inspection  of  one  printing  es- 
tablishment suggests  others  which  are  brought  into  com- 
parison till  the  general  notion,  publishing-house,  is  more 
clearly  conceived.  The  same  is  true  in  the  lumber  trade. 
The  concept  lumber-business  is  not  confined  to  Minneap- 
olis or  Chicago,  but  is  common  to  the  great  lake  region, 
Maine,  Washington,  Norway,  and  other  countries.  Con- 
cepts become  more  varied  and  complex  with  the  advance 
of  studies,  and  there  is  scarcely  anything  we  learn  by  ob- 
servation or  reflection  that  docs  not  ultimately  illustrate 
and  build  up  our  concepts.  The  observation  of  even  the 
miscellaneous  objects  in  a  large  city  leads  to  a  variety  of 
concepts,  and  in  the  end,  by  comparison,  to  the  general 
notion,  city. 

How  strong  the  concept-creating  tendency  of  all  ex- 
perience and  thought  is,  can  be  seen  in  the  words  of  Ian- 


HO  GENERAL  METHOD. 

guage.  The  processes  of  thought  become  petrified  in 
language.  All  progress  in  knowledge  and  acquisition  of 
new  ideas  is  reflected  in  language  by  an  increase  of 
words.  But  an  examination  of  words  in  common  use 
will  show  that  they  are  nearly  all  the  names  of  concepts. 
Proper  names  are  the  principal  exception.  Every  com- 
mon noun,  verb,  adjective,  adverb,  and  preposition  is 
the  name  of  a  concept;  for  example,  horse,  beauty,  to 
steal,  running,  over,  early,  yellow,  grape,  ocean,  etc. 
To  understand  these  concepts  there  must  be  somewhere 
a  progress  from  the  individual  to  the  abstract,  an  induc- 
tion from  particulars  to  a  general  concept. 

Abstract  or  general  notions  cannot  be  acquired  at 
first  hand  without  specific  illustrations.  Even  where  the 
deductive  process  is  supposedly  employed,  a  closer  ex- 
amination will  uncover  the  concrete  or  individual  illustra- 
tions in  the  background,  and  until  these  are  reached  the 
concept  has  no  clear  meaning.  The  concrete  examples, 
whether  introduced  sooner  or  later  b}'  way  of  explana- 
tion, are  the  real  basis  of  the  understanding  of  the  con- 
cept. It  is  customary  to  invert  the  inductive  process 
and  to  drive  it  stern  forwards  through  grammar,  geogra- 
phy, and  other  studies.  Take,  for  example,  the  word 
boomerang  as  it  comes  up  in  a  geography  or  reading  lesson. 
Webster's  dictionary,  which  is  recommended  to  children 
as  a  first  resort  in  such  difficulties,  calls  it  "A  remark- 
able missile  weapon  used  by  the  natives  of  Australia." 
This  gives  a  faint  notion  by  using  the  familiar  word 
loeapon.  The  picture  accompanying  the  word  in  the  dic- 
tionary gives  a  more  accurate  idea  because  nearer  the 
concrete.  The  best  possible  explanation  would  be  a  real 
boomerang  thrown  by  a  native  South-Sea  Islander.  In 
the  absence  of  these,  a  picture  and  a  vivid  description  are 


INDUCTION.  141 

the  best  means  at  our  disposal.  The  common  mistake  is 
in  learning  and  reciting  the  definition  while  neglecting 
the  concrete  basis.  By  way  of  further  illustration,  try  to 
explain  to  children,  who  have  never  heard  of  them  before, 
the  egg-plant,  palm-tree,  cactus,  etc. 

It  would  be  of  interest  to  inquire  into  the  process  of 
concept-building  in  each  of  the  school  sttidies,  where  it 
appears  under  quite  varying  forms.  The  natural  sciences 
are  perhaps  the  best  examples  of  concept-building  from 
concrete  materials,  advancing  regularly  through  a  series 
of  concepts  from  the  individuals  and  species  to  the  most 
general  classes  of  plants,  animals,  etc.  In  chemistry 
and  physics  the  laws  and  general  principles  are  based  on 
substances,  experiments,  and  processes  observable  by  the 
senses.  Grammar  and  language,  when  studied  as  a  sci- 
ence, advance  from  concept  to  concept  through  etymology 
and  syntax.  In  geography  and  history  the  concepts  are 
less  definite  and  more  difficult  to  formulate,  and  yet  there 
are  many  typical  ideas  which  are  to  be  developed  and 
illustrated  in  each  of  these  studies;  in  history,  for  ex- 
ample, colony,  legislature,  governor,  general,  revolution 
institutions  and  customs,  political  party,  laws  of  develop- 
ment, causal  relations,  inventions,  etc.  ;  in  geography, 
continents,  oceans,  forms  of  relief,  kinds  of  climate  and 
causes,  occupations,  products,  commerce,  etc.  The 
fundamental  truths  and  relations  and  rules  of  arithmetic 
must  be  developed  from  objects  and  illustrations.  Read- 
ing, spelling,  and  writing  are  arts,  not  sciences,  and  are 
more  concerned  with  skill  in  execution  than  with  the  ac- 
quisition of  a  body  of  scientific  truths.  And  yet  certain 
general  truths  are  emphasized  and  applied  in  these 
studies. 

Much  needless  confusion  has   been  caused  by  raising 


142  GENERAL  METHOD. 

the  question  where  to  begin  in  learning.  Do  we  proceed 
from  the  whole  to  the  parts,  or  from  the  parts  to  the 
whole?  In  making  the  acquaintance  of  sense-objects 
it  seems  clear  that  we  first  perceive  wholes  (somewhat 
vaguely  and  indefinitely).  The  second  impulse  is  to 
analyze  this  whole  into  its  parts,  then  recombine  them 
(synthesis)  into  a  whole  which  is  more  definitely  and  fully 
grasped.  A  house,  for  example,  is  generally  first  perceived 
as  a  whole;  aud  later  it  is  examined  more  particularly  as 
to  its  materials,  rooms,  stairways,  conveniences,  furnish- 
ings, etc.  The  same  is  true  with  a  mountain,  a  butterfly, 
a  man.  Thus  far  we  have  proceeded  from  the  whole  to 
the  parts  and  then  back  again;  analysis  and  synthesis. 
The  next  movement  is  from  this  whole  or  object  to- 
ward a  group  of  similar  objects,  a  class  notion.  ABy  com- 
paring one  thing  with  others  similar,  a  class  notion  is 
formed  which  includes  them  all.  Each  individual  is  a 
whole,  but  is  also  a  type  of  the  entire  group.  The  gen- 
eral mental  movement  is  successively  in  two  directions 
from  any  particular  object;  first,  from  the  whole  to  the 
parts,  then  grasping  this  whole  in  a  richer,  fuller  sense,  the 
mind  seeks  for  relations  which  bind  this  object  with  1 
others  similar  into  a  group,  a  more  complex  product,  a  ! 
concept.  There  may  appear  to  be  an  exception  to  this 
rule  in  the  case  of  a  city,  a  continent,  a  railroad,  or  any^ 
concrete  object  so  large  and  complex  that  it  cannot  be 
grasped  by  a  single  effort  of  sense  perception.  But 
even  here  it  is  usual  with  us  first  to  represent  the  whole 
object  to  our  thought  by  means  of  a  sketch,  map,  or  fig- 
ure of  speech,  so  as  first  to  get  a  quick  survey  of  the 
whole  thing.  In  history,  also,  we  first  grasp  at  wholes, 
then  enter  into  a  detailed  account  of  an  event,  a  campaign, 
u  voyage,   a  revolution,  etc.      There  are  many  complex 


INDUCTION.  143 

wholes  in  geography  and  history  with  which  it  is  not 
wise  to  begin,  because  it  requires  a  long  and  painful  effort 
to  get  at  the  notion  of  the  whole.  The  wholes  we  have 
in  mind  are  those  which  can  be  almost  instantly  grasped. 
Not,  for  example,  an  outline  of  American  history  or  of 
the  world's  history.  The  choice  of  suitable  wholes  with 
which  to  begin  is  based  upon  the  child's  interest  and  ap- 
perceptive powers. 

Having  thus  examined  into  the  general  nature  of  the 
inductive  process  and  the  extent  of  its  application  to 
school  studies  and  to  other  forms  of  acquiring  knowledge, 
we  are  led  to  a  closer  practical  discussion  of  each  of  the 
two  chief  stages  of  induction:  ¥\r si,  observation  or  intui- 
tion; that  is,  the  direct  perception  through  the  senses  or 
through  consciousness,  of  the  realities  of  the  external 
world  and  of  the  mind.  Second,  association  of  ideas  with 
a  view  to  generalizing  and  for7ninff  concepts. 

Intuition*  implies  object  lessons  in  a  wide  sense.  By 
object  lessons  is  usually  meant  things  in  nature  perceived 
through  the  senses.  But  it  is  necessary  to  extend  the 
idea  of  object  lessons  beyond  the  objects  and  phenomena 
of  the  physical  world,  to  which  it  has  been  usually  lim- 
ited. It  includes  perception  of  our  own  mental  states. 
These  direct  experiences  of  our  own  inner  states  are 
the  primary  basis  of  our  understanding  of  other  peo- 
ple's feelings,  mental  states,  and  actions.  In  short,  an 
understanding  of  the  phenomena  of  individual  life,  (the 

^Intuition  is  popularly  used  in  a  sense  different  from  the 
above.  We  are  in  need  of  a  word  which  has  the  same  meaning 
as  the  German  word,  Anachduiauj,  for  wiiich  there  is  no  popular 
equivalent  In  English.  Intuition,  as  defined  by  Webster,  is  nearly 
the  same:  "direct  apprehension,  or  cognition;  Immediate  knowl- 
edge, as  in  perception  or  consciousness." 

For  a  discussion  of  this  term,  see  Quick's  Educational  Re- 
formers, p.  361.  Appleton's  edition. 


144  GENERAL   METHOD. 

acts  of  persons)  of  society,  and  of  history,  is  based  upon 
a  knowledge  of  our  own  feelings  and  mental  acts,  and 
upon  the  accuracy  with  which  we  have  observed  and  in- 
terpreted similar  things  in  other  persons.  We  have  al- 
ready seen  that  a  right  appreciation  of  companions,  bi- 
ographies, social  life,  and  history,  is  the  strongest  of 
psychological  forces  in  its  formative  influence  upon  char- 
acter. For  this  reason,  also,  history  includes  the  first 
and  most  important  body  of  school  studies.  But  object 
lessons  drawn  from  physical  nature  do  not  measurably 
qualify  us  for  a  better  appreciation  of  individual  and  so- 
cial life  and  action.  The  fundamental  illustrative  ma- 
terials for  history  are  drawn  from  another  source,  from 
the  depth  of  the  heart  and  inner  experience  of  each  per- 
son. Many  words  in  our  own  school  books  can  be  illus- 
trated and  explained  by  objects  and  activities  in  physical 
nature,  but  a  large  part  of  the  words  in  common  use  in 
our  readers  and  school  books  can  be  explained  by  no  ex- 
ternal objects.  They  depend  for  their  interpretation  upon 
the  child's  own  feelings,  desires,  joys,  griefs,  etc.,  and 
upon  similar  phenomena  observed  in  others. 

Object  lessons  in  this  liberal  sense  point  to  the  direct 
exercise  of  the  senses  and  intuitions  in  the  acquisition  of 
experience  of  all  sorts.  They  include  the  objects,  per- 
sons, and  events  that  we  see  around  us  and  our  own  ex- 
periences in  ordinary  life — the  grass,  plants,  trees,  and 
soils;  the  animals,  wild  and  tame,  with  their  structure, 
habits,  and  uses;  the  rocks,  woods,  hills,  streams,  seasons, 
clouds,  heat,  and  cold.  There  is  also  the  observation  of 
devices  and  inventions;  tools,  machinery  and  their  work- 
ings, the  different  raw  and  manufactured  products,  with 
their  ways  of  growth  and  transformation.  Besides  these 
are  the  various  kinds  and  dispositions  of  men,  different 


INDUCTION.  145 

classes  and  races  of  people,  with  great  variety  of  charac- 
ter, occupation,  and  education.  Their  actions,  modes  of 
dress,  and  customs  are  included.  But  we  have  many 
other  primary  and  indispensable  lessons  to  learn  from  the 
playground,  the  street,  from  home  and  church,  from  city 
and  country,  from  travel  and  sight  seeing,  from  holidays 
and  work  days,  from  sickness,  and  healthful  excursions. 
Even  a  child's  own  tempers,  faults,  and  successes  are  of 
the  greatest  value  to  himself  and  to  the  teacher  in  a 
proper  self-understanding  and  mastery.  By  object  les- 
sons, therefore,  we  mean  all  that  a  child  becomes  conscious 
of  through  the  direct  action  of  his  senses  and  of  his  mind 
upon  external  nature  or  inner  experience.  It  is  desired 
that  a  child's  knowledge  in  all  direct  experience  be  sim- 
ple, clear,  and  according  to  the  facts.  All  words  that  he 
uses  become  only  signs  of  the  realities  of  his  experience. 
Every  word  stands  for  a  potent  thought  in  his  own  life 
history.  Of  course  object  lessons  in  this  rich  and  real 
sense  can  not  be  confined  to  such  few  objects — birds, 
leaves,  models,  and  straws — as  can  be  brought  into  a 
school  room.  All  the  world,  especially  the  outside  world, 
becomes 

•'A  complex  Chinese  toy 
Fasliioned  for  a  barefoot  boy." 

Many  of  the  most  interesting  objects  and  phenomena 
in  nature  and  of  man's  construction  can  not  be  observed 
in  the  school  room  at  all,  for  instance,  the  river,  the 
bridge,  the  forest,  the  flight  of  birds,  the  sunrise,  the 
storm,  the  stars,  etc.  Still  they  must  know  these  very 
things  and  know  how  to  use  them  better  in  construct- 
ing the  mind's  treasures  than  they  are  wont  to  do.  In 
reading,  grammar,  geography,  arithmetic,  and  nature 
study,  we  desire  to  ground  school  discussions  daily  upon 


146  GENERAL  METHOD. 

the  clear  facts  of  experience,  of  personal  observation. 
We  need  to  clear  up  all  confused  and  faulty  perceptions 
and  to  stimulate  children  to  make  their  future  observa- 
tions more  reliable. 

We  have  already  seen  the  importance  of  object  lessons 
in  this  full  and  real  sense  to  interest.  Interest  in  every 
study  is  awakened  and  constantly  reenforced  by  an  appeal, 
not  to  books,  but  to  life.  Much  of  the  dull  work  in  arith- 
metic, geography,  and  other  studies  is  due  to  the  neglect 
of  these  real,  illustrative  materials. 

Of  the  six  great  sources  of  interest, (Herbart's)  three, 
the  empirical,  the  esthetic,  and  the  sympathetic,  deal 
entirely  with  concrete  objects  or  with  individuals,  while 
even  the  speculative  and  social  interests  are  often  based 
directly  upon  particular  persons  or  phenomena.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  it  may  be  said  that  the  interests  of  children 
are  overwhelmingly  with  the  concrete  and  imaginative 
phases  of  every  subject,  and  only  secondarily  with  general 
truths  and  laws.  The  latter  are  of  greater  concern  to 
older  children  and  adults.  Object  lessons  therefore  con- 
tain a  life-giving  element  that  should  enter  into  every 
subject  of  study. 

Nor  should  these  interesting,  illustrative  object  les- 
sons be  limited  to  the  lower  grades.  They  contain  the 
combustible  material  upon  which  an  abiding  interest  in 
any  subject  is  to  be  kindled.  There  are  indeed  other 
and  perhaps  higher  sources  of  interest,  but  they  are 
largely  dependent  upon  these  original  springs  that  flow 
from  the  concrete  beginnings. 

In  the  second  place,  object  lessons  supply  a  stock  of 
prim,ary  ideas  which  form  the  foundation  of  all  later  pro- 
gress in  knowledge.  This  is  not  a  question  of  interest 
merely,  but  of  imderstayiding ,  of  capacity  to  get  at  the 


INDUCTION.  147 

meaning  of  an  idea.  Concepts  are  not  the  raw  materials 
with  which  the  mind  works,  but  they  are  elaborated  out 
of  the  ■  raw  products  furnished  by  the  senses  and  other 
forms  of  intuition.  As  cloth  is  manufactured  out  of  the 
raw  cotton  and  wool  produced  on  the  farm  or  in  southern 
fields,  so  concepts  are  a  manufactured  article,  into  whose 
texture  materials  previously  gathered  enter.  Concepts 
do  not  grow  up  directly  from  the  soil  of  the  mind  any 
more  than  ready-made  clothing  grows  on  bushes  or  on  the 
backs  of  the  wearers.  Concepts  must  be  made  out  of 
stuff  that  is  already  in  the  mind,  as  woolen  blankets  are 
spun  and  woven  out  of  fleeces.  Our  present  contention 
is  that  the  mind  shall  be  filled  up  with  the  best  quality  of 
raw  stuff,  otherwise  there  will  be  defect  and  deficiency 
in  its  later  products.  The  stuff  out  of  which  concepts  are 
built  is  drawn  from  the  varied  experiences  of  life.  On 
account  of  this  intimate  relation  between  the  realities  of 
life  and  school  studies  they  cannot  be  separated.  Every 
branch,  especially  in  elementary  studies,  must  be  treated 
concretely  and  be  built  up  out  of  sense  materials.  Every 
study  has  its  concrete  side,  its  illustrative  materials,  its 
colors  of  individual  things  taken  from  life.  Every  study 
has  likewise  its  more  general  scientific  truths  and  classi- 
fications. The  prime  mistake  in  nearly  all  teaching  and 
in  the  text-book  method  is  in  supposing  that  the  great 
truths  are  accessible  in  some  other  way  than  through  the 
concrete  materials  that  lie  properly  at  the  entrance.  The 
text-books  are  full  of  the  abstractions  and  general  form- 
ulae of  the  sciences;  but  they  can,  in  the  very  nature  of 
the  case,  deal  only  in  a  meager  way  with  the  individual 
objects  and  facts  upon  whidh  knowledge  in  different  sub- 
jects is  based.  This  necessary  defect  in  a  text-book 
method  must  be  made  good  by  excursions,  by  personal 


148  GENERAL  METHOD. 

observation,  by  a  constant  reference  of  lessons  to  daily 
experience  outside  of  school,  by  more  direct  study  of  our 
surroundings,  by  the  teacher  perfecting  himself  in  this 
kind  of  knowledge  and  in  its  skillful  use. 

There  was  a  current  belief  at  one  time  that  object 
lessons  should  form  a  special  study  for  a  particular  period 
of  school  life,  namely,  the  first  years.  It  was  thought 
that  sufficient  sense-materials  could  be  collected  in  two 
or  three  years  to  supply  the  whole  school  curriculum. 
But  this  thought  is  now  abandoned.  Children  in  the 
earlier  grades  may  properly  spend  more  time  in  object 
study  than  in  later  grades,  but  there  is  no  time  in  school 
life  when  we  can  afford  to  cut  loose  from  the  real  world. 
There  is  scarcely  a  lesson  in  any  subject  that  can  not  be 
clarified  and  strengthened  by  calling  in  the  fresh  experi- 
ences of  daily  life. 

The  discussion  of  the  concept  and  of  the  inductive  pro- 
cess has  shown  that  coticepts  cannot  be /ound  at  firsthand. 
There  must  be  observation  of  different  objects,  compar- 
ison, and  grouping  into  a  class.  A  person  who  has  never 
seen  an  elephant  nor  a  picture  of  one,  can  form  no  ade- 
quate notion  of  elephants  in  general.  We  can  by  no  shift 
dispense  with  the  illustrations.  The  more  the  memory  is 
filled  with  vivid  pictures  of  real  things,  the  more  easy  and 
rapid  will  be  the  progress  to  general  truths.  Not  only 
are  general  notions  of  classes  of  objects  in  nature,  or  of 
personal  actions  built  up  out  of  particulars,  but  the  general 
la.ws  and  principles  of  nature  and  of  human  society  must 
be  observed  in  real  life  to  be  understood.  We  should 
have  no  faith  in  electricity  if  it  were  simply  a  scientific 
theory,  if  it  had  not  demonstrated  its  power  through  ma- 
terial objects.  The  idea  of  cohesion  would  never  have 
been  dreamed  of,  if  it  had  not  become  necessary  to  explain 


INDUCTION.  149 

certain  physical  facts.  The  spherical  form  of  the  earth 
was  not  accepted  by  many  even  learned  men  until  sailors 
with  ships  had  gone  around  it.  Political  ideas  of  popular 
government  which  a  few  centuries  ago  were  regarded  as 
purely  Utopian  are  now  accepted  as  facts  because  they 
have  become  matters  of  common  observation.  The  circu- 
lation of  the  blood  remained  a  secret  for  many  centuries 
because  of  the  difficulties  of  bringing  it  home  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  senses.  These  examples  will  show  how 
difficult  it  is  to  go  beyond  the  reach  of  sense  experience. 
Even  those  philosophers  who  have  tried  to  construct 
theories  without  the  safe  foundation  of  facts  have  labored 
for  naught.  The  more  our  thought  is  checked  and  guided 
by  nature's  realities  the  less  danger  of  inflation  with  pre- 
tended knowledge.  Bacon  found  that  in  this  tendency 
to  theorize  loosely  upon  a  slender  basis  of  facts  was  the 
fundamental  weakness  of  ancient  philosophy.  Nature  if 
observed  will  reiterate  her  truths  till  they  become  con- 
vincing verities,  while  the  study  of  words  and  books  alone 
produces  a  quasi-knowledge  which  often  mistakes  the 
symbol   for  the  thing. 

Having  this  thought  in  mind,  Comenius,  more  than  two 
and  a  half  centuries  ago,  said,  "It  is  certain  that  there  is 
nothing  in  the  understanding  which  has  not  been  previ- 
ously in  the  senses,  and  consequently  to  exercise  the 
senses  carefully  in  discriminating  the  differences  of  nat- 
ural objects  is  to  lay  the  foundation  of  all  wisdom,  all 
eloquence,  and  of  all  good  and  prudent  action.  The 
right  instruction  of  youth  does  not  consist  in  cramming 
them  with  a  mass  of  words,  phrases,  sentences,  and 
opinions  collected  from  authors.  In  this  way  the  youth 
are  taught,  like  iEsop's  crow  in  the  fable,  to  adorn  them- 
selves with  strange  feathers.      Why  should  we  not,  instead 


ir>0  GENERAL  METHOD. 

of  dead  books,  open  the  living  book  of  nature  ?  Not  the 
shadows  of  things,  but  the  things  themselves,  which  make 
an  impression  upon  the  senses  and  imagination,  are  to  be 
brought  before  the  youth." 

There  has  always  been  a  strong  tendency  in  the  schools 
to  teach  words,  definitions,  arid  rules  without  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  objects  and  experiences  of  life  that  put 
meaning  into  these  abstractions.  The  result  is  that  all 
the  prominent  educational  reformers  have  pointedly  con- 
demned the  practice  of  learning  words,  names,  etc.,  with- 
out a  knowledge  of  the  things  signified.  The  difference 
is  like  that  between  learning  the  names  of  a  list  of  per- 
sons at  a  reception,  and  being  present  to  enter  into 
acquaintance  and  conversation  with  the  guests.  The  oft- 
quoted  dictum  of  Kant  is  a  laconic  summary  of  this 
argument.  "General  notions  (concepts)  without  sense- 
percepts  are  empty."  The  general  definition  of  com- 
posite flowers  means  little  or  nothing  to  a  child;  but  after 
a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  sunflower,  dandelion, 
thistle,  etc. ,  such  a  general  statement  has  a  clear  mean- 
ing. Concepts  without  the  content  derived  from  objects 
are  like  a  frame  without  a  picture,  or  a  cistern  without 
water.  The  table  is  spread  and  the  dishes  placed,  but  no 
refreshments  are  supplied. 

Havingcompleted  the  discussion  of  intuition,  including 
object  lessons,  that  is,  the  preparatory  step  to  the  in- 
ductive process,  we  reach  the  second,  reflection  and  sur- 
vey. We  are  seeking  for  a  general  term  that  covers  the 
several  steps  in  the  latter  part  of  the  inductive  process. 
It  includes  comparison,  classification,  and  abstraction.  It 
may  be  discussed  from  the  standpoint  of  "association  of 
ideas,"  and  contributes  directly  to  concentration. 

We  have  in  mind,  chiefly,  that  thoughtful  habit  which 


INDUCTION.  151 

is  not  satisfied  with  simply  acquiring  a  new  fact  or  set  of 
ideas,  but  is  impelled  to  trace  them  out  along  their  vari- 
ous connections.  We  have  to  do  now  not  with  the  acquis- 
ition but  with  the  elaboration  and  assimilation  of  knowl- 
edge. The  acqnisilion  of  knowledge  in  the  ordinary 
sense  is  one  thing;  its  elaboration  in  a  full  sense  sets  up  a 
standard  of  progress  which  will  put  life  into  all  school 
work  and  reach  far  beyond  it,  and  in  fact  is  limited 
only  by  the  individual  capacity  for  thought.  In 
school,  in  reading  and  study,  we  have  been  largely 
engaged  in  acquiring  knowledge  on  the  principle  that 
"knowledge  is  power. "  But  no  practical  man  needs  to 
be  told  that  much  so-called  school  knowledge  is  not  power. 
Facts  which  have  been  simply  stored  in  the  memory  are 
often  of  little  ready  use.  It  is  like  wheat  in  the  bin, 
which  must  first  pass  through  the  mill  and  change  its 
entire  form  before  it  will  perform  its  function.  Facts,  in 
order  to  become  the  personal  property  of  the  owner,  must 
be  worked  over,  sifted,  sorted,  classified,  and  connected. 
The  process  of  elaborating  and  assimilating  knowledge  is 
so  important  that  it  requires  more  time  and  pains  than 
the  first  labor  of  acquisition.  Philosophers  will  admit 
this  at  once,  but  it  is  hard  for  us  to  break  loose  from  the 
traditions  of  the  schoolmasters.  The  mind  is  not  in  all  . 
respects  like  a  lumberyard.  It  is,  to  be  sure,  a  place 
for  storing  up  knowledge,  just  as  the  yard  is  a  deposit 
for  lumber.  But  there  the  analogy  ceases  and  the  mind 
begins  to  resemble  more  the  contractor  and  builder. 
There  is  planing,  sawing,  and  hammering;  the  materials 
collected  are  prepared,  fitted,  and  mortised  together,  and 
a  building  fit  for  use  begins  to  rise.  Knowledge  also  is 
for  use,  and  not  primarily  for  storage.  That  simple 
acquisition  and  quantity  of  knowledge  arc  not  enough  is 


152  (JENERAL   METHOD. 

illustrated  by  the  analogy  of  an  army.  Numbers  do  not 
make  an  army,  but  a  rabble.  A  general  first  enlists  raw 
recruits,  drills  and  trains  them  through  a  long  period, 
and  finally  combines  them  into  an  effective  army.  Many 
of  our  ideas  when  first  received  are  like  disorderly  raw 
recruits.  They  need  to  be  disciplined  into  proper  action 
and  to  ready  obedience. 

In  connection  with  assimilation  the  analogy  between 
the  stomach  and  the  mind  is  of  still  greater  interest. 
The  food  received  into  the  stomach  is  taken  up  by  the 
organs  of  digestion,  assimilated  and  converted  into  blood. 
The  process,  however,  takes  its  course  without  our  con- 
scious effort  or  co-operation.  Knowledge  likewise  enters 
the  mind,  but  how  far  will  assimilation  go  on  without 
conscious  efifort?  If  kept  in  a  healthy  state  the  organs 
of  digestion  are  self  active.  Not  so  the  mind.  Ideas 
entering  the  mind  are  not  so  easily  assimilated  as  the 
food  materials  that  enter  the  stomach.  A  cow  chews  her 
cud  once,  but  the  ideas  that  enter  our  minds  may  be 
drawn  from  their  receptacle  in  the  memory  and  worked 
over  again  and  again.  Ideas  have  to  be  put  side  by  side, 
separated,  grouped,  and  arranged  into  connected  series. 
There  is,  no  doubt,  some  tendency  in  the  mind  toward  in- 
voluntary assimilation,  but  it  greatly  needs  culture  and 
training.  Many  people  never  reach  the  thinking  stage, 
never  learn  to  survey  and  reflect.  The  tendency  of  the 
mind  to  work  over  and  digest  knowledge  should  receive 
ample  culture  in  the  schools.  There  is  a  mental  inertia 
produced  by  pure  memory  exercise  that  is  unfavorable  to 
reflection.  It  requires  an  extra  exertion  to  arrange  and 
organize  facts  even  after  they  are  acquired.  But  when 
the  habit  of  reflection  has  been  inaugurated  it  adds  much 
interest  and  value  to  all  mental  acquisitions. 


INDUCTION.  153 

There  are  also  well-established  principles  which  guide 
the  mind  in  elaborating  its  facts.  The  kncs  of  the  asso- 
ciation of  ideas  indicate  clearly  the  natural  trend  of 
mental  elaboration.  The  association  of  things  because 
of  contiguity  in  time  and  place  is  the  simplest  mode. 
The  classification  of  objects  or  activities  on  the  basis  of 
resemblance,  is  the  second  form  and  that  upon  which  the 
inductive  process  is  principally  founded.  In  the  third 
case  objects  and  series  are  easily  retained  in  memory 
when  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect  is  perceived  be- 
tween them.  These  natural  highways  of  association, 
especially  the  second  and  third,  should  be  frequently 
traveled  in  linking  the  facts  of  school  study  with  each 
other.  Indeed  the  outcome  of  a  rational  survey  of  an 
object  or  faot  in  its  different  relations  is  an  association  of 
ideas  which  is  one  of  the  best  results  of  study.  Such 
connections  of  resemblance  and  difference  or  of  cause  and 
effect  are  abundant  and  interesting  in  the  natural  sci- 
ences and  physical  geography,  also  in  history  and  lan- 
guages. 

The  Herbartians  draw  an  important  distinction  be- 
tween psychical  and  logical  concepts  or  general  notions. 
The  ^.syc//tc'«^  concept  is  worked  but  naturally  by  a  child 
or  an  adult  as  a  result  of  the  chance  experiences  of  life. 
It  is  usually  a  work  of  accident;  is  incomplete,  faulty, 
and  often  misleading.  The  logical  concept,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  scientifically  correct  and  complete.  It  includes 
all  the  common  characteristics  of  the  group  and  excludes 
all  that  are  not  essential.  It  is  a  product  of  accurate 
and  mature  thinking.  We  all  possess  an  abundance  of 
psychical  concepts  drawn  from  the  miscellaneous  experi- 
ences of  life.  It  is  a  large  share  of  the  school  work,  as 
we  have  seen,  to  develop  logical  concepts  out  of  these  im- 


154  GENERAL  METHOD. 

mature  and  faulty  psychical  concepts.  A  child  is  dis- 
posed to  call  tadpoles  Rshes;  and  later  porpoises  and 
whales  are  faultily  classed  wiih  the  fishes  in  the  same 
way.  Nearly  all  our  psychical  concepts  are  subject  to 
such  loose  and  faulty  judgments.  Even  where  one  is  ac- 
curate in  his  observations,  the  conclusions  naturally 
drawn  are  often  wrong.  For  example,  a  child  that  has 
seen  none  but  red  squirrels  would  naturally  think  all 
squirrels  red,  and  include  the  quality  red  in  his  general 
notion.  Most  of  our  empirically  deriv'ed  general  notions 
are  spotted  with  such  defects.  What  relation  have  these 
facts  to  induction?  We  claim  that  general  notions  should 
be  experimentally  formed;  that  is,  by  a  gradual  collec- 
tion of  concrete  or  illustrative  materials,  and  that  the 
logical  concepts  are  the  final  outcome  of  cofnparison  and 
reasoning  toward  conclusions.  In  other  words,  we  must 
begin  with,  psychical  concepts  with  all  their  faults;  we 
must  make  mistakes  and  correct  them  as  our  experience 
enlarges,  and  gradually  work  out  of  psychical  into  log- 
ical methods  and  results.  Our  text-books  usually  give 
us  the  logical  concept  first,  the  rule,  definition,  principle, 
in  its  most  complete  and  accurate  statement.  This  does 
violence  to  the  child's  natural  mental  movement. 

\  The  final  stage  of  induction  is  the  /onnulation  of  the 
general  truths,  the  concepts,  principles,  and  laws  which 
constitute  the  science  of  any  branch  of  knowledge.  These 
truths  should  be  well  formulated  in  clear  and  expressive 
language  and  mastered  in  this  form.  Moreover,  the  re- 
sults reached,  when  reduced  to  the  strict  scientific  form, 
are  the  same  in  the  inductive  methods  as  in  the  deductive 
or  common  text-book  method.  Not  that  the  effect  on 
the  mind  of  the  learner  is  the  same  but  the  body  of  truth 
is  unaltered.      The  general  truths  of  every  subject  can  be 


INDUCTION.  155 

easily  found  well  arranged  in  text-books.  But  we  are 
more  anxious  to  know  how  the  youth  may  best  approach 
and  appreciate  these  truths  than  simply  to  see  them 
stored  in  the  mind  in  a  well-classified  form. 

A  rich  man  in  leaving  a  fortune  to  his  son  would  more 
than  double  the  value  of  the  inheritance  if  he  could  teach 
him  properly  to  appreciate  wealth  and  form  in  him  the 
disposition  and  ability  to  use  it  wisely.  In  the  same  way 
the  best  part  of  knowledge  is  not  simply  its  possession, 
but  an  appreciation  of  its  value.  The  method  of  reach- 
ing scientific  knowledge  through  the  inductive  process, 
that  is  by  the  collection  and  comparison  of  data  with  a 
view  to  positive  insight,  will  give  greater  meaning  to  the 
results.  Interest  is  awakened  and  self-activity  exercised 
at  every  step  in  the  progress  toward  general  truths.  By 
the  reflective  habit  these  truths  will  be  seen  in  their 
origin  and  causal  connection,  and  the -line  of  similarity, 
contrast,  causal  relation,  analogy  and  coincidence  will 
be  thoughtfully  traced. 

Possibly  the  progress  toward  formulated  knowledge 
will  be  less  rapid  by  induction,  but  it  will  be  real  pro- 
gress with  no  backward  steps.  It  may  well  be  doubted 
whether,  with  average  minds,  real  scientific  knowledge  is 
attainable  except  by  a  strong  admixture  of  inductive  pro- 
cesses. Perfection  in  the  form  and  structure  of  our  con- 
cepts is  not  to  be  attained  by  children  nor  by  adults, 
but  the  ideal  of  scientific  accuracy  in  general  notions  is 
to  be  kept  constantly  in  view  and  approximated  to  the 
extent  of  our  ability. 

After  all,  deduction  performs  a  much  more  important 
part  in  the  work  of  building  up  concepts  than  the  previ- 
ous discussion  would  indicate.  As  fast  as  psychical  con- 
cepts are  formed  we  clamber  upon  them  and  try  to  get  a 


\M  ^  GENERAL  METHOD. 

better  view  of  the  field  around  us.  Like  captured  guns, 
we  turn  them  at  once  upon  the  enemy  and  make  them 
perform  service  in  new  fields  of  conquest.  If  a  new  case 
or  object  appears  we  judgeof  it  inthelight  of  our  acquired 
concepts,  no  matter  whether  they  are  complete  and  ac- 
curate or  not.  This  is  deduction.  We  are  glad  to  gain 
any  vantage  ground  in  judging  the  objects  and  phenom- 
ena constantly  presenting  themselves.  In  fact,  it  is  in- 
evitable that  inductive  and  deductive  processes  will  be 
constantly  dovetailed  into  each  other.  The  faulty  con- 
cepts arrived  at  are  brought  persistently  into  contact 
with  new  individual  cases.  They  are  thus  corrected,  en- 
larged, and  more  accurately  grasped.  This  is  the  series 
of  mental  stepping-stones  that  leads  up  gradually  to  log- 
ical concepts.  The  inductive  process  is  the  fundamental 
one  and  deduction  comes  in  at  every  step  to  brace  it  up. 
This  is  only  another  illustration  that  mental  processes  are 
intimately  interwoven,  and,  except  in  thought,  not  to  be 
separated.  In  the  discussion  of  apperception  in  the  fol- 
lowing chapter  we  shall  see  that,  in  the  process  of  gain- 
ing knowledge,  our  acquired  ideas  and  concepts  play  a 
most  important  role.  They  are  really  the  chief  assim- 
ilating agencies.  But  in  spite  of  all  this  we  shall 
scarcely  be  led  again  to  the  standpoint  that  logical  or 
scientific  concepts  should  be  the  starting  point  in  the 
study  of  any  subject. 


APPERCEPTION.  157 


CHAPTER   VI. 


APPERCEPTION. 


We  have  now  to  deal  with  a  principle  of  pedagogy 
upon  which  all  the  leading  ideas  thus  far  discussed  largely 
depend  for  their  realization.  Interest,  concentration, 
and  induction  set  up  requirements  relative  to  the  matter, 
spirit,  and  method  of  school  studies.  Apperception  is  a 
practical  principle,  obedience  to  which  will  contribute 
daily  and  hourly  to  making  real  in  school  exercises  the 
ideas  of  interest,  concentration  and  induction. 

We  observe  in  passing  that  the  important  principles 
already  discussed  stand  in  close  mutual  relation  and  de- 
pendence. Interest  aids  concentration  by  bringing  all 
kinds  of  knowledge  into  close  touch  with  the  feelings.  In- 
terest puts  incentives  into  every  kind  of  information  so 
as  to  arouse  the  will,  which,  in  turn,  unifies  and  controls 
the  mental  actions.  But  concentration  has  a  reflex  in- 
fluence upon  interest,  because  unity  and  conscious  mas- 
tery give  added  pleasure  to  knowledge.  The  culture 
epochs  are  expected  to  contribute  powerfully  to  both  con. 
centration  and  interest;  to  the  former  bj'  supplying  a 
series  of  rallying-points  for  educative  effort,  to  the  lat- 
ter by  furnishing  matter  suited  to  interest  children.  In- 
duction is  a  natural  method  of  acquiring  and  unifying 
knowledge  in  an  interesting  way.  Apperception, in  turn, 
is  a  principle  '^f  mental  action  which  puts  life  and  inter- 
est into  inductive  and  concentrating  processes.  Every 
hour  of  school  labor  illustrates  the  value  of  apperception 


158  GENERAL  METHOD. 

and  teachers  should  find  in  it  a  constant  antidote  to  faulty 
methods. 

Apperception  may  be  roughly  defined  at  first  as  the 
process  of  acquiring  neto  ideas  hy  the  aid  of  old  ideas  al- 
ready in  the  mind.     It    makes    the    acquisition    of   new 
knowledge  easier   and   quicker.      Not  that  there  is  any  - 
easy  road  to  learning,  but  there  is  a  natural  process  which 
greatly  accelerates  the  progress  of  acquisition,  just  as  it  is 
better  to  follow  a  highway  over  a  rough  country  than  to 
betake  one's  self  to  the  stumps  and  brush.     For  example, 
if  one  is  familiar  with  peaches,  apricots  will  be  quickly 
understood  as  a  kindred  kind  of  fruit,  even  though  a  little 
strange.       A  person  who  is  familiar  with  electrical  ma- 
chinery will  easily  interpret  the  meaning  and  purpose  of 
every  part  of  a  new  electrical   plant.     One  may  perceive 
a  new  object  without  understanding  it,  but  to  apperceive 
it  is  to  interpret  its   meaning  by  the   aid   of   similar   fa- 
miliar notions. 

If  one  examines  a  typewriter  for  the  first  time,  it  will 
take  some  pains  and  effort  to  understand  its  construction 
and  use;  but  after  examining  a  Remington,  another  kind 
will  be  more  easily  understood,  because  the  principle  of 
the  first  interprets  that  of  the  second.  Suppose  the 
Steppes  of  Russia  are  mentioned  for  the  first  time  to  a 
class.  The  word  has  little  or  no  meaning  or  perhaps 
suggests  erroneously  a  succession  of  stairs.  But  we  re- 
mark that  the  steppes  are  like  the  prairies  and  plains  to 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  covered  with  grass  and 
fed  on  by  herds.  By  awakening  a  familiar  notion  already 
in  the  mind  and  bringing  it  distinctly  to  the  front,  the 
new  thing  is  easily  understood.  Again,  a  boy  goes  to 
town  and  sees  a  banana  for  the  first  time,  and  asks, 
"What  is  that?     I  never  saw  anything  like  that."     He 


APPERCEPTION.  159 

thinks  he  has  no  class  of  things  to  which  it  belongs,  no 
place  to  put  it.  His  father  answers  that  it  is  to  eat  like 
an  orange  or  a  pear,  and  its  significance  is  at  once  plain 
by  the  reference  to  something  familiar. 

Again,  two  men,  the  one  a  machinist  and  the  other  an 
observer  unskilled  in  machines,  visit  the  machinery  hall 
of  an  exposition.  The  machinist  observes  a  new  inven- 
tion and  finds  in  it  a  new  application  of  an  old  principle. 
As  he  passes  along  from  one  machine  to  another  he  is 
much  interested  in  noting  new  devices  and  novel  appli- 
ances and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  he  leaves  the  hall  with  a 
mind  enriched.  The  other  observer  sees  the  same  ma- 
chines and  their  parts,  but  does  not  detect  the  principle 
of  their  construction.  His  previous  knowledge  of  ma- 
chines is  not  sufficient  to  give  him  the  clue  to  their  expla- 
nation. After  an  hour  of  uninterested  observation  he 
leaves  the  hall  with  a  confused  notion  of  shafts,  wheels, 
cogs,  bands,  etc.,  but  with  no  greater  insight  into  the 
principles  of  machinery.  Why  has  one  man  learned  so 
much  and  the  other  nothing?  Because  the  machinist's 
previous  experience  served  as  an  interpreter  and  ex- 
plained these  new  contrivances,  while  the  other  had  no 
suflftcient  previous  knowledge  and  so  acquired  nothing 
new.      "To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given." 

In  the  act  of  apperception  the  old  ideas  dwelling  in 
the  mind  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  deatl  treasures  stored 
away  and  only  occasionally  drawn  out  and  used  by  a  pur- 
posed effort  of  the  memory,  but  they  are  living  Jorce* 
which  have  the  active  power  of  seizing  and  appropriating 
new  ideas.  Lazarus  says  they  stand  ''like  well-armed 
men  in  the  inner  stronghold  of  the  mind  ready  to  sally 
forth  and  overcome  or  make  serviceable  whatever  shows 
itself  at  the  portals   of  sense."     It  is  then  through    the 


100  GENERAL  METHOD. 

active  aid  of  familiar  ideas  that  new  things  find  an  intro- 
duction to  soul  life.  If  old  friends  go  out  to  meet  the 
strangers  and  welcome  them,  there  will  be  ao  easy  en- 
trance and  a  quick  adoption  into  the  new  home. 

But  frequently  these  old  friends  who  stand  in  the 
background  of  our  thoughts  must  be  awakened  and  called 
to  the  front.  They  must  stand  as  it  were  on  tiptoe 
ready  to  welcome  the  stranger.  For  if  they  lie  asleep  in 
the  penetralia  of  the  home  the  new  comers  may  approach 
and  pass  by  for  lack  of  a  welcome.  It  is  often  necessary, 
therefore,  for  the  teacher  to  revive  old  impressions,  to 
call  up  previously  acquired  knowledge  and  to  put  it  in 
readiness  to  receive  and  welcome  the  new.  The  success 
with  which  this  is  done  is  often  the  difference  between 
good  and  poor  teaching. 

We  might  suppose  that  when  two  persons  look  at  the 
same  object  they  would  get  the  same  impression,  but  this 
is  not  true  at  all.  Where  one  person  faints  with  fright  or 
emotion  another  sees  nothing  to  be  disturbed  at.  Two 
travelers  come  in  sight  of  an  old  homestead.  To  one  it 
is  an  object  of  absorbing  interest  as  the  home  of  his  child- 
hood; to  the  other  it  is  much  like  any  other  old  farm 
house.  What  is  the  cause  of  this  difference?  Not  the 
house.  It  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  It  is  remarkable 
how  much  color  is  given  to  every  idea  that  enters  into 
the  mind  by  the  ideas  already  there.  Some  visitors  at 
the  World's  Fair  can  tell  almost  at  a  glance  to  what 
states  many  of  the  buildings  belong;  other  visitors  must 
study  this  out  on  the  maps  and  notices.  One  who  is  fa- 
miliar with  the  history,  architecture,  and  products  of  the 
different  states  is  able  to  classify  many  of  the  buildings 
with  ease.  His  previous  knowledge  of  these  states  in- 
terprets their  buildings.      Mt.  Vernon  naturally  belongs 


APPERCEPTION.  161 

to  Virginia,  Independence  Hall  to  Pennsylvania,  John 
Hancock's  house  to  Massachusetts.  In  a  still  more  strik- 
ing manner,  a  knowledge  of  foreign  countries  enables  the 
observer  to  classify  such  buildings  as  the  French,  the 
German,  the  Swedish,  the  Japanese,  etc.  Again,  in  view- 
ing any  exhibit  our  enjoyment  and  appreciation  depend 
almost  entirely  upon  our  previous  knowledge,  not  upon 
our  eye-sight  or  our  physical  endurance.  Many  objects 
of  the  greatest  value  we  pass  by  with  an  indifferent 
glance  because  our  previous  knowledge  is  not  sufficient  to 
give  us  tlieir  meaning. 

If  a  dry  goods  merchant,  a  horse  jockey,  and  an  arch- 
itect pass  down  a  city  street  together,  what  will  each  ob- 
serve? The  merchant  notices  all  the  dry  goods  stores,  their 
displays,  and  their  favorable  or  unfavorable  location.  The 
jockey  sees  every  horse  and  equipage;  he  forms  a  quiet 
but  quick  judgment  upon  every  passing  animal.  The 
architect  sees  the  buildings  and  style  of  construction.  If 
in  the  evening  each  is  called  upon  to  give  his  observations 
for  the  day,  the  jockey  talks  of  horses  and  describes  some 
of  the  best  specimens  in  detail;  the  merchant  speaks  of 
store-fronts  and  merchandise;  the  architect  is  full  of  ele- 
vations of  striking  or  curious  buildings.  The  architect 
and  merchant  remember  nothing,  perhaps,  about  the 
horses;  the  jockey  nothing  of  stores  or  buildings.  Three 
people  may  occupy  the  same  pew  in  a  church;  the  one 
can  tell  you  all  about  the  music,  the  second  the  good 
points  in  the  sermon,  and  the  third  the  style  and  becom- 
ingness  of  the  bonnets  and  dresses.  Each  one  sees  what 
he  has  in  his  own  mind.  A  teacher  describes  Yosemite 
Valley  to  a  geography  class.  Some  of  the  children  con- 
struct a  mental  picture  of  a  gorge  with  steep  mountain 
sides,  but  no  two  pictures  are  alike;  some  have  mental  pic- 


ir,:>  GENERAL  METHOD. 

tures  that  resemble  nothing  in  heaven  above  or  earth  be- 
low; some  have  constructed nothing  at  all!  only 

the  echo  of  a  few  spoken  words.  If  the  teacher,  at  the 
close  of  her  description,  could  have  the  mental  state  of 
each  child  photographed  on  the  blackboard  of  her  school- 
room she  would  be  in  mental  distress.  In  presenting 
such  topics  to  children,  much  depends  upon  the  previous 
content  of  their  minds,  upon  the  colors  out  of  which  they 
paint  the  pictures. 

We  are  now  prepared  for  a  more  accurate  definition 
of  apperception.  "The  transformation  of  a  newer  (weaker) 
concept  by  means  of  an  older  one  surpassing  the  former 
in  power  and  inner  organization  bears  the  name  of  apper- 
ception, in  contrast  to  the  unaltered  reception  of  the 
same  perception."  (Lindner's  Psychol,  p.  124,  trans,  by 
De  Garmo. )  Lindner  remarks  further,  "Apperception  is 
the  reaction  of  the  old  against  the  new — in  it  is  revealed 
the  preponderance  which  the  older,  firmer,  and  more 
self-contained  concept  groups  have  in  contrast  to  the 
concepts  which  have  just  entered  consciousness."  Again, 
"  It  is  a  kind  of  jyrocess  of  condensation  of  thought  and 
brings  into  the  mental  life  a  certain  stability  and  firm- 
ness, in  that  it  subordinates  new  to  older  impressions, 
puts  everything  in  its  right  place  and  in  its  right  rela- 
tion to  the  whole,  and  in  this  way  works  at  that  organic 
formation  of  our  consciousness  which  we  call  cidture.^' 
(Lindner  p  126.)  "Apperception  may  be  defined  as  that 
interaction  between  two  similar  ideas  or  thought- 
complexes  in  the  course  of  which  the  weaker,  unorgan- 
ized, isolated  idea  or  thought-complex  is  incorporated  into 
the  richer,  better  digested,  and  more  firmly  compacted 
one."     (Lange,  Apperception,  p.  13.) 

Oftentimes,  therefore,  older  ideas  or  thought  masses, 


APPERCEPTION.  163 

being  clear,  strong,  and  well-digested  receive  a  new 
impression  to  modify  and  appropriate  it.  This  is 
especially  true  where  opinions  have  been  carefully  formed 
after  thought  and  deliberation.  A  well-trained  political 
economist,  for  example,  when  approaching  a  new  theory 
or  presentation  of  it  by  a  George  or  Bellamy,  meets  it 
with  all  the  resources  of  a  well-stored,  thoughtful  mind; 
and  admits  it,  if  at  all,  in  a  modified  form  to  his  system 
of  thought.  Sometimes,  however,  a  new  theory,  which 
strikes  the  mind  with  grtat  clearness  and  vigor,  is  able 
to  make  a  powerful  assault  upon  previous  opinions,  and 
perhaps  modify  or  overturn  them.  This  is  the  more  apt 
to  be  the  case  if  one's  previous  ideas  have  been  weak  and 
undecided.  In  the  interaction  between  the  old  and  new 
the  latter  then  become  the  apperceiving  forces.  Upon 
the  untrained  or  poorly-equipped  mind  a  strong  argu- 
ment has  a  more  decisive  effect  than  it  may  justly 
deserve.  As  we  noticed  above,  new  ideas,  especially 
those  coming  directly  through  the  senses,  are  often  more 
vivid  and  attractive  than  similar  old  ones.  For  this 
reason  they  usually  occupy  greater  attention  and  prom- 
inence at  first  than  later,  when  the  old  ideas  have  besrun 
to  revive  and  reassert  themselves.  Old  ideas  usually 
have  the  advantage  over  the  new  in  being  better  organ- 
ized, more  closely  connected  in  series  and  groups;  and 
having  been  often  repeated,  they  acquire  a  certain  per- 
manent ascendency  in  the  thoughts.  In  this  interaction 
between  similar  notions,  old  and  new,  the  differences  at 
first  arrest  attention,  then  gradually  sink  into  the  back- 
ground, while  the  stronger  points  of  resemblance  begin 
to  monopolize  the  thought  and  bind  the  notions  into  a 
unity. 

The  use  of   familiar  notions   in  acquiring  an  insight 


104  GENERAL   METHOD. 

into  new  things  is  a  natural  tendency  or  drift  of  the  mind. 
As  soon  as  we  see  something  new  and  desire  to  under- 
stand it,  at  once  we  involuntarily  begin  to  ransack  our 
old  stock  of  ideas  to  discover  anything  in  our  previous 
experience  which  corresponds  to  this  or  is  like  it.  For 
whatever  is  like  it  or  has  an  analogy  to  it,  or  serves  the 
same  uses,  will  explain  this  new  thing,  though  the  two 
objects  be  in  other  points  essentially  different.  We  are, 
in  short,  constantly  falling  back  upon  our  old  experi- 
ences and  classifications  for  the  explanation  of  new 
objects  that  appear  to  us. 

So  far  is  this  true  that  the  most  ordinary  things  can 
only  be  explained  in  the  light  of  experience.  When  John 
Smith  wrote  a  note  to  his  companions  at  Jamestown,  and 
thus  communicated  his  desires  to  them,  it  was  unintelli- 
gible to  the  Indians.  They  had  no  knowledge  of  writing 
and  looked  on  the  marks  as  magical.  "When  Colu7nbus' 
ships  first  appeared  on  the  cost  of  the  new  world,  the 
natives  looked  upon  them  as  great  birds.  They  had 
never  seen  large  sailing  vessels.  To  vary  the  illustra- 
tion, the  art  of  reading,  so  easy  to  a  student,  is  the  ac- 
cumulated result  of  a  long  collection  of  knowledge  and 
experience.  There  is  an  unconscious  employment  of  ap- 
perception in  the  practical  affairs  of  life  that  is  of  interest. 
We  often  see  a  person  at  a  distance  and  by  some  slight 
characteristic  of  motion,  form,  or  dress,  recognize  him  at 
once.  From  this  slight  trace  we  picture  to  ourselves  the 
person  in  full  and  say  we  saw  him  in  the  street.  Sitting 
in  my  room  at  evening  I  hear  the  regular  passenger  train 
come  in.  The  noise  alone  suggests  the  engine,  cars,  con. 
ductor,  passengers,  and  all  the  train  complete.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  I  saw  nothing  at  all  but  have  before  my 
mind  the  whole  picture.     On  Sunday  morning  I  see  some 


APPERCEPTION.  165 

one  enter  a  familiar  church  door,  and  going  on  my  way 
the  whole  picture  of  church,  congregation,  pastor,  music 
and  sermon  come  distinctly  to  my  mind.  Only  a  passing 
glance  at  one  person  entering  suggests  the  whole  scene. 
In  looking  at  a  varied  landscape  we  see  many  things 
which  the  sensuous  eye  alone  would  not  detect,  distances, 
perspective  and  relative  size,  position  and  nature  of  ob- 
jects. This  apperceptive  power  is  of  vast  importance  in 
practical  life  as  it  leads  to  quick  judgment  and  action, 
when  personal  examinations  into  details  would  be  impos- 
sible. 

In  apperception  we  never  pass  from  the  known  to 
things  which  are  entirely  new.  Absolutely  new  knowl- 
edge is  gained  by  perception  or  intuition.  When  an  older 
person  meets  with  something  totally  new,  he  either  does 
not  notice  it  or  it  staggers  him.  Apperception  does  not 
take  place.  In  many  cases  we  are  disturbed  or  frightened, 
as  children,  by  some  new  or  sudden  noise  or  object.  But 
most  so-called  new  things  bear  sufficient  resemblance  to 
things  seen  before  to  admit  of  explanation.  Strange  as 
the  sights  of  a  Chinese  city  might  appear,  we  should  still 
know  that  we  were  in  a  city.  In  most  "new"  objects  of 
observation  or  study,  the  familiar  parts  greatly  prepon- 
derate over  the  unfamiliar.  In  a  new  reading  lesson,  for 
example,  most  of  the  words  and  ideas  are  well  known,  only 
an  occasional  word  requires  explanation  and  that  by  using 
familiar  illustrations.  The  flood  of  our  familiar  and  oft- 
repeated  ideas  sweeps  on  like  a  great  river,  receiving  here 
and  there  from  either  side  a  tributary  stream,  that  is 
swallowed  up  in  its  waters  without  perceptible  increase_ 

So  strong  is  the  apperceiving  force  of  familiar  notions 
that  they  drag  far-distant  scenes  in  geography  and  his- 
tory into  the  home  neighborhood  and  locate  them  there. 


IGC,  tJENERAL   METHOD. 

The  imagination  works   in   conjunction  with  the  apper- 
ceiving  faculty  and  constructs  real  pictures.      Children 
are  otherwise  inclined  to  substitute  one  thing  for  another 
by  imagination.     With  boys  and  girls,  geographical  ob- 
jects about  home  are  often  converted  by  fancy  into  rep- 
resentatives of  distant  places.       It  is  related  of  Byron 
that  while  reading  in  childhood  the  story  of  the  Trojan 
war,  he  localized  all  the  places  in  the  region  of  his  home. 
An  old  hill  and  castle  looking  toward  the  plain  and  the 
sea  were  his  Troy.    The  stream  flowing  through  the  plain 
was  the  Simois.     The  places  of  famous  conflicts  between 
the  Trojans  and  Greeks  were  located.      So  vivid  were  the 
pictures  which  these  home  scenes  gave  to  the  child,  that 
years  later  in  visiting  Asia  Minor  and  the  sight  of  the 
real  Troy,  he  was  not  so  deeply  impressed  as  in  his  boy- 
hood.    A  German  professor  relates  that  he  and  his  com- 
panions, while  reading  the  Indian  stories  of  Cooper,  lo- 
cated the  important  scenes  in  the  hills  and  valleys  about 
Eisenach  in    the    Thuringian    mountains.       Many    other 
illustrations  of  the  same  imaginative  tendency  to  substi- 
tute home    objects    for    foreign    ones    are    given.       But 
whether  or  not  this  experience  is  true  of  us  all,   it  is  cer- 
tain that  we  can  form  no  idea  of  foreign  places  and  events 
except  as  we  construct  the  pictures  out  of  the  fragments 
of  things  that  we  have  known.      What  we  have  seen  of 
rivers,  lands,  and  cities  must  form  the  materials  for  pic- 
turing to  ourselves  distant  places. 

Since  the  old  ideas  have  so  much  to  do  with  the  proper 
reception  of  the  new,  let  us  examine  more  closely  the 
interaction  of  the  two.  If  a  neto  idea  drops  into  the 
mind,  like  a  stone  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  it  pro- 
duces a  commotion.  It  acts  as  a  stimulus  or  wakener  to 
the  old  ideas  sleeping  beneath   the  surface.     It  draws 


APPERCEPTION.  1(17 

them  up  above  the  surface-level;  that  is,  into  conscious- 
ness. But  what  ideas  are  thus  disturbed?  There  are 
thousands  of  these  latent  ideas,  embryonic  thoughts,  be- 
neath the  surface.  Those  which  possess  sufficient  kinship 
to  this  new-comer  to  hoar  his  call,  respond.  For  in  the 
mind  "birds  of  a  feather  flock  together."  Ideas  and 
thoughts  which  resemble  the  new  one  answer,  the  others 
sleep  on  undisturbed,  except  a  few  who  are  so  intimately 
associated  with  these  kinsmen  as  to  be  disturbed  when 
they  are  disturbed.  Or,  to  state  it  differently,  certain 
thought-groups  or  complexes,  which  contain  elements 
kindred  to  the  new  notion,  are  agitated  and  raised  into 
conscious  thought.  They  seem  to  respond  to  their 
names.  The  new  idea  may  continue  for  some  time  to 
stimulate  and  agitate.  There  appears  to  be  a  sort  of  tele- 
;^raphic  inquiry  through  the  regions  of  the  mind  to  find 
out  where  the  kindred  dwell.  The  distant  relatives  and 
strangers  (the  unrelated  or  unserviceable  ideas)  soon  dis- 
cover that  they  have  responded  to  the  wrong  call  and 
drop  back  to  sleep  again.  But  the  real  kindred  wake  up 
more  and  more.  They  come  forward  to  inspect  the  new- 
tomor  and  to  examine  his  credentials.  Soon  he  finds  that 
he  is  surrounded  by  inquisitive  friends  and  relatives. 
They  threaten  even  to  take  possession  of  him.  Up  to 
this  point  the  new  idea  has  taken  the  lead,  he  has  been 
the  aggressor.  Bat  now  is  the  time  for  the  awakened 
kindred  ideas  to  assume  control  and  load  the  stranger 
captive,  to  bring  hiin  in  among  themselves  and  give  him 
his  appropriate  place  and  importance.  The  old  body  of 
ideas,  when  once  set  in  motion,  is  more  powerful  than 
any  single-handed  stranger  who  happens  to  fall  into  their 
company.  The  outcome  is  that  the  stranger,  who  at  first 
seemed  to  be  producing  such   a  sensation,  now  discovers 


168  GENERAL    METHOD. 

that  strong  arms  are  about  him  and  he  is  carried  captive 
by  vigorous  friends.  New  ideas  when  first  entering  the 
mind  are  very  strong,  and,  if  they  come  through  the 
senses,  are  especially  rich  in  the  color  and  vigor  of  real 
life.  They  therefore  absorb  the  attention  at  first  and 
seem  to  monopolize  the  mental  energies;  but  the  older 
thought  masses,  when  fully  aroused,  are  better  organ- 
ized, more  firmly  rooted  in  habit,  and  possess  much 
wider  connections.  They  are  almost  certain,  therefore, 
to  apperceive  the  new  idea;  that  is,  to  conquer  and  sub- 
due it,  to  make  it  tributary  to  their  power. 

Let  us  examine  more  closely  the  effect  of  the  process 
of  apperception  upon  the  new  and  old  ideas  that  are 
brought  in  contact.  First,  observe  the  effect  upon  the  neio  : 
Many  an  idea  which  is  not  strong  enough  in  itself  to  make 
a  lasting  impression,  upon  the  mind  would  quickly  fade 
out  and  be  forgotten  were  it  not  that  in  this  process  the  old 
ideas  throw  it  into  a  clear  light,  give  it  more  meaning, 
associate  it  closely  with  themselves,  and  thus  save  it.  Two 
persons  look  at  the  sword  of  Washington;  one  examines 
it  with  deep  interest,  the  other  scarcely  gives  it  a  second 
glance.  The  one  remembers  it  for  life,  the  other  forgets 
it  in  an  hour.  The  sense  perception  was  the  same  in 
both  persons  at  first,  but  the  reception  given  to  the  idea 
by  one  converts  it  into  a  lasting  treasure.  A  little 
lamp-black,  rolled  up  between  finger  and  thumb,  suggested 
to  Edison  his  carbon  points  for  the  electric  light.  A 
piece  of  lamp-black  would  produce  no  such  effect  in  most 
peoples  minds.  The  difference  is  in  the  reception 
accorded  to  an  idea.  The  meaning  and  importance  of  an 
idea  or  event  depend  upon  the  interpretation  put  upon  it 
by  our  previous  experience.  "  Many  a  weak,  obscure, 
and  fleeting  perception  would  pass  almost  unnoticed  into 


APPERCEPTION.  169 

obscurity,  did  not  the  additional  activity  of  apperception 
hold  it  fast  in  consciousness.  This  sharpens  the  senses, 
i.  e.,  it  gives  to  the  organs  of  sense  a  greater  degree  of 
energy,  so  that  the  watching  eye  how  sees,  and  the 
listening  ear  now  hears,  that  which  ordinarily  would  pass 
unnoticed.  The  events  of  apperception  give  to  the 
senses  a  peculiar  keenness,  which  underlies  the  skill  of 
the  money-changer  in  detecting  a  counterfeit  among  a 
thousand  bank-notes,  notwithstanding  its  deceptive  sim- 
ilarity; of  the  jeweler  who  marks  the  slightest,  appar- 
ently imperceptible,  flaw  in  an  ornament;  of  the  physicist 
who  perceives  distinctly  the  overtones  of  a  vibrating 
string.  According  to  this  we  see  and  hear  not  only  with 
the  eye  and  ear,  but  quite  as  much  with  the  help  of  our 
present  knowledge,  with  the  apperceiving  content  of  the 
mind."     (Apperception,  Lange,  J)e  Garmo,  p.  21.) 

Some  even  intelligent  and  sensible  people  can  walk 
through  .  Westminster  Abbey  and  see  nothing  but  a 
curious  old  church  with  a  few  graves  and  monuments. 
To  a  person  well-versed  in  English  history  and  literature 
it  is  a  shrine  of  poets,  a  temple  of  heroes,  the  common 
resting-place  of  statesmen  and  kings. 

Secondly,  what  is  the  effect  on  the  old  ideas/  Every 
idea  that  newly  enters  the  mind  produces  changes  in  the 
older  groups  and  series  of  thought.  Any  one  new  idea 
may  cause  but  slight  changes,  but  the  constant  influx  of 
new  experiences  works  steadily  at  a  modification  and  re- 
arrangement of  our  previous  stores  of  thought.  Faulty 
and  incomplete  groups  and  concepts  are  corrected  or 
enlarged;  that  is,  changed  from  psychical  into  logical 
notions.  Children  are  surprised  to  find  little  flowers  on 
the  oaks,  maples,  walnuts,  and  other  large  forest  trees. 
On  account  of  the  small  size  of  the  blossoms,  heretofore 


170  ,  GENERAL   METHOD. 

unnoticed,  they  had  not  thought  of  the  great  trees  as 
belonging  to  the  flowering  plants.  Their  notion  of  flow- 
ering plants  is,  therefore,  greatly  enlarged  by  a  few  new 
observations.  The  bats  flying  about  in  the  twilight  have 
been  regarded  as  birds;  but  a  closer  inspection  shows 
that  they  belong  to  another  class,  and  the  notion  bird 
must  be  limited.  As  already  observed  in  the  discussion 
of  induction,  most  of  our  psychical  notions  are  thus  faulty 
and  incomplete;  e.  //. ,  the  ideas  fruit,  fish,  star,  insect, 
mineral,  shij),  church,  clock,  dog,  kitchen,  library, 
lawyer,  city,  etc.  Our  notions  of  these  and  of  hundreds 
of  other  such  classes  are  at  first  both  incomplete  and 
faulty.  The  inflow  of  new  ideas  constantly  modifies 
them,  extending,  limiting,  explaining,  and  correcting 
our  previous  concepts. 

Sometimes,  however,  a  single  new  thought  may  have 
wide-reaching  effects;  it  may  even  revolutionize  one's 
previous  modes  of  thinking  and  reorganize  one's  activi- 
ties about  a  new  center.-"*With  Luther,  for  instance,  the 
idea  of  justification  by  faith  was  such  a  new  and  potent 
force,  breaking  up  and  rearranging  his  old  forms  of 
thought.  St.  Paul's  vision  on  the  way  to  Damascus  is  a 
still  more  striking  illustration  of  the  power  of  a  new  idea 
or  conviction.  And  yet,  even  in  such  cases,  the  old  ideas 
reassert  themselves  with  great  persistence  and  power. 
Luther  and  St.  Paul  remained,  even  after  these  great 
changes,  in  many  respects  the  same  kind  of  men  as  be- 
fore. Their  old  habits  of  thinking  were  modified,  not  de- 
stroyed; the  direction  of  their  lives  was  changed,  but 
many  of  their  habits  and  characteristics  remained  almost 
unaltered. 

Apperception,  however,  is  not  limited  to  the  effects 
of  external  objects  upon  us,  to  the  influence  of  ideas  com- 


APPERCEPTION.  171 

ing  from  without  upon  our  old  stores  of  knowledge.  Old 
ideas,  long  since  stored  in  the  mind,  may  be  freshly 
called  up  and  brought  into  such  contact  with  each  other 
that  new  results  follow,  new  apperceptions  take  place. 
In  moments  of  reflection  we  are  often  surprised  by  con- 
clusions that  had  not  presented  themselves  to  us  before. 
A  new  light  dawns  upon  us  and  we  .are  surprised  at  not 
having  seen  it  before.  In  fact,  it  makes  little  difference 
whether  the  idea  suggested  to  the  mind  comes  from 
within  or  from  without  if,  when  it  once  enters  fairly  into 
consciousness,  it  has  power  to  stimulate  other  thoughts,  \y 
to  wake  up  whole  thought  complexes  and  bring  about  a 
process  of  action  and  reaction  between  itself  and  others. 
The  result  is  new  associations,  new  conclusions,  new 
mental  products — apperceptions. 

This  inner  apperception^  as  it  has  been  sometimes 
called,  takes  place  constantly  when  we  are  occupied  with 
our  own  thoughts,  rather  than  with  external  impressions. 
With  persons  of  deep,  steady,  reflective  habits,  it  is  the 
chief  means  of  organizing  their  mental  stores.  The  feel- 
ings and  the  will  have  much  also  to  do  with  this  process. 

The  laws  of  association  draw  the  feelings  as  much  as 
the  intellectual  states  into  apperceptive  acts.  I  hear  of 
a  friend  who  has  had  disasters  in  business  and  has  lost 
his  whole  fortune.  If  I  have  never  experienced  such  dif- 
ficulties myself,  the  chances  are  that  the  news  will  not 
make  a  deep  impression  upon  me.  But  if  I  have  once 
gone  through  the  despondency  of  such  a  crushing  defeat, 
sympathy  for  my  friend  will  be  awakened,  and  I  may  feel 
his  trouble  almost  as  my  own.  The  meaning  of  such  an 
item  of  news  depends  upon  the  response  which  it  finds  in 
my  own  feelings.  It  is  well  known  that  those  friends  can 
best  sympathize  with  us  in  our  trouble  who  have  passed 


173  GENERAL  METHOD. 

through  the  same  troubles.  Even  enemies  are  not  lack- 
ing in  sympathy  with  each  other  when  an  appeal  is  made 
to  deep  feelings  and  experiences  common  to  both. 

The  feeling  of  interest,  which  we  have  emphasized  s^ 
much,  is  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  dependent  upon  appercep- 
tive conditions.  Select  a  lesson  adapted  to  the  age  and 
understanding  of  a  child,  present  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
recall  and  make  use  of  his  previous  experience,  and  inter- 
est is  certain  to  follow.  The  outcome  of  a  successful  act 
of  apperception  is  always  a  feeling  of  pleasure,  or  at 
least  of  interest.  When  the  principle  of  apperception  is 
fully  applied  in  teaching,  the  progress  from  one  point  to 
another  is  so  gradual  and  clear  that  it  gives  pleasure. 
The  clearness  and  understanding  with  which  we  receive 
knowledge  adds  greatly  to  our  interest  in  it.  On  the 
contrary,  when  apperception  is  violated,  and  new  knowl- 
edge is  only  half  understood  and  assimilated  there  can  be 
but  little  feeling  of  satisfaction.  "The  overcoming  of 
certain  difficulties,  the  accession  of  numerous  ideas,  the 
success  of  the  act  of  knowledge  or  recognition,  the 
greater  cleai^ness  that  the  ideas  have  gained,  awaken  a 
feeling  of  pleasure.  We  become  conscious  of  the  growth 
of  our  knowledge  and  power  of  understanding.  The 
significance  of  this  new  impression  for  our  ego  is  now 
more  strongly  felt  than  at  the  beginning  or  during  the 
course  of  the  progress.  To  this  pleasurable  feeling  is 
easily  added  the  effort,  at  favorable  opportunity,  to  repro" 
duce  the  product  of  the  apperception,  to  supplement  and 
deepen  it,  to  unite  it  to  other  ideas,  and  so  further  to  ex- 
tend certain  chains  of  thought.  The  summit  or  sum  of 
these  states  of  mind  we  happily  express  with  the  word 
interest.  For  in  reality  the  feeling  of  self  appears  be- 
tween the  various  stages  of  the  process  of  apperception 


APPERCEPTION.  173 

{inter  esse);  with  one's  whole  soul  does  one  contemplate 
the  object  of  attention.  If  we  regard  the  acquired  knowl- 
edge as  the  objective  result  of  apperception,  interest 
must  be  regarded  as  the  subjective  side."  (Lange,  Ap- 
perception, page  19.) 

Finally,  the  will  has  much  to  do  with  conscious  efforts 
at  apperception.  It  holds  the  thought  to  certain  groups; 
it  excludes  or  pushes  back  irrelevant  ideas  that  crowd  in; 
it  holds  to  a  steady  comparison  of  ideas,  even  where  per- 
plexity and  obscurity  trouble  the  thinker.  When  the 
process  of  reaching  a  conclusion  takes  much  time,  when 
conflict  or  contradiction  have  to  be  removed  or  adjusted, 
when  reflection  and  reasoning  are  necessary,  the  will  is  of 
great  importance  in  giving  coherency  and  steadiness  to 
the  apperceptive  effort.  A  conscious  effort  at  apper- 
ception, therefore,  may  include  many  elements,  sense  per- 
ceptions, ideas  recalled,  feeling,  will. 

"Let  us  now  sum  up  the  essentials  in  the  process  of 
apperception.  First  of  all,  an  external  or  internal  per- 
ception, an  idea,  or  idea-complex  appears  in  consciousness, 
finding  more  or  less  response  in  the  mind;  that  is,  giving 
rise  to  greater  or  less  stimulation  to  thought  and  feeling. 

"In  consequence  of  this,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
psychical  mechanism  or  an  impulse  of  the  will,  one  or 
more  groups  of  thoughts  arise,  which  enter  into  relation 
to  the  perception.  While  the  two  masses  are  com. 
pared  with  one  another,  they  work  upon  one  another  with 
more  or  less  of  a  transforming  power.  New  thought-com- 
binations are  formed,  until,  finally,  the  perception  is  ad- 
justed to  the  stronger  and  older  thought  combination. 
In  this  way  all  the  factors  concerned  gain  in  value  as  to 
knowledge  and  feeling;  especially,  however,  does  the  new 
idea  gain   a  clearness    and  activity  that   it   never  would 


174  (^.ENERAL  METHOD. 

have  gained  for  itself.  Apperception  is,  therefore,  that 
psychical  activity  by  lohich  indiviihial  perceptions,  ideas, 
or  idea-complexes  are  brought  into  relation  to  our  previous 
intellectxial  and  emotional  life,  assimilated  with  it,  and 
thxis  raised  to  greater  clearness,  activity,  and  significance.'' 
(Lange,  Apperception,  page  41.) 

Important  conclusions  drawn  from  a  study  of  apper- 
ception : 

1.  Value  of  previous  knowledge.  If  knowledge  once 
acquired  is  so  valuable  we  are  first  of  all  urged  to  make 
the  acquisition  permanent.  Thorough  mastery  and  fre- 
quent reviews. are  necessary  to  make  knowledge  stick. 
Careless  and  superficial  study  is  injurious.  It  is  some- 
times carelessly  remarked  by  those  who  are  supposed  to 
be  wise  in  educational  matters  that  it  makes  no  differ" 
ence  how  much  we  forget  if  we  only  have  proper  drill 
and  training  to  study.  That  is,  how  we  study  is  more 
important  than  what  we  learn.  But  viewed  in  the  light 
of  apperception,  acquired  knowledge  should  be  retained 
and  used,  for  it  unlocks  the  door  to  more  knowledge. 
Thorough  mastery  and  rete?itio7i  of  the  elements  of  knowl- 
edge in  the  different  branches  is  the  only  solid  road  to 
progress.  In  this  connection  we  can  see  the  importance 
of  learning  only  what  is  loorth  remembering,  what  will 
prove  a  valuable  treasure  in  future  study.  In  the  selec- 
tion of  material  for  school  studies,  therefore,  we  must 
keep  in  mind  knowledge  which,  as  Comenius  says^  is  of 
solid  utility.  Having  once  selected  and  acquired  such 
materials,  we  are  next  impelled  to  make  constant  use  of 
them.  If  the  acquisition  of  new  information  depends  so 
much  upon  the  right  use  of  previous  knowledge,  we  are 
called  upon  to  build  constantly  upon  this  foundation. 
This  is    true    whether   the  child's    knowledge    has  been 


APPERCEPTION.  175 

acquired  at  school  or  at  home.  In  order  to  make  things 
clear  and  interesting  to  boys  and  girls  we  must  refer 
every  day  to  what  they  have  before  learned  in  school  and 
out  of  school. 

Again,  if  we  accept  the  doctrine  that  old  ideas  are  the 
materials  out  of  which  we  constantly  build  bridges  across 
into  new  fields  of  knowledge,  we  must  kno%o  the  diUdren 
better  and  what  store  of  knowledge  they  have  already 
acquired.  Just  as  an  army  marching  into  a  new  country 
must  know  well  the  country  through  which  it  has  passed 
and  must  keep  open  the  line  of  communication  and  the 
base  of  supplies,  so  the  student  must  always  have  a  safe 
retreat  into  his  past,  and  a  base  of  supplies  to  sustain 
him  in  his  onward  movements.  The  tendency  is  very 
strong  for  a  grade  teacher  to  think  that  she  needs  to 
know  nothing  except  the  facts  to  be  acquired  in  her  own 
grade.  But  she  should  remember  that  her  grade  is  only 
a  station  on  the  highway  to  learning  and  life.  In  teach- 
ing we  cannot  by  any  shift  dispense  with  the  ideas  chil- 
dren have  gained  at  home,  at  play,  in  the  school  and  out- 
side of  it.  This,  in  connection  with  what  the  child  has 
learned  in  the  previous  grades,  constitutes  a  stock  of 
ideas,  a  capital,  upon  which  the  teacher  should  freely 
draw  in  illustrating  daily  lessons. 

2.  The  use  of  our  acquired  stock  of  ideas  involves  a 
constant  worA:m/7  over  of  old  ideas,  and  this  working-over 
process  not  only  reviews  and  strengthens  past  knowledge, 
keeping  it  from  forgetfulness,  but  it  throws  new  light 
upon  it  and  exposes  it  to  a  many  sided  criticism.  In  the 
first  place  familiar  ideas  should  not  be  allowed  to  rest  in 
the  mind  unused.  Like  tools  for  service  they  must  be 
kept  bright  and  sharp.  One  reason  why  so  many  of  the 
valuable  ideas  we  have  acquired  have   gradually  disap- 


17f)  GENERAL  METHOD. 

peared  from  the  mind  is  because  they  remained  so  long 
unused  that  they  faded  out  of  sight.  The  old  saying 
that  "  repetition  is  the  mother  of  studies"  needs  to  be 
recalled  and  emphasized.  By  being  put  in  contact,  with 
new  ideas,  old  notions  are  seen  and  appreciated  in  new 
relations.  Facts  that  have  long  lain  unexplained  in  the 
mind,  suddenly  receive  a  new  interpretation,  a  vivid  and 
rational  meaning.  Or  the  old  meaning  is  intensified  and 
vivified  by  putting  a  new  fact  in  conjunction  with  it. 

Where  the  climate  and  products  of  the  British  Isles 
have  been  studied  in  political  geography,  and  later  on,  in 
physical  geography,  the  gulf  stream  is  explained  in  its 
bearings  on  the  climate  of  western  Europe,  the  whole 
subject  of  the  climate  of  England  is  viewed  from  a  new 
and  interesting  standpoint.  In  arithmetic,  where  the 
sum  of  the  squares  of  the  two  sides  of  a  right-angled  tri- 
angle is  illustrated  by  an  example  and  later  on  in  geom- 
etry the  same  proposition  is  taken  up  in  a  different  way 
and  proved  as  a  universal  theorem,  new  and  interesting 
light  is  thrown  upon  an  old  problem  of  arithmetic.  In 
United  /States  history,  after  the  Revolution  has  been 
studied,  the  biography  of  a  man  like  Samuel  Adams 
throws  much  additional  and  vivid  light  upon  the  events 
and  actors  in  Boston  and  Massachusetts.  The  life  of 
John  Adams  would  give  a  still  different  view  of  the  same 
great  events;  just  as  a  city,  as  seen  from  different  stand- 
points, presents  different  aspects. 

3.  We  have  thus  far  shown  that  new  ideas  are  more 
easily  understood  and  assimilated  when  they  are  brought 
into  close  contact  with  what  we  already  know;  and  sec- 
ondly, that  our  old  knowledge  is  often  explained  and 
illuminated  by  new  facts  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 
We  may  now  observe  the  result  of  this  double  action — 


APPERCEPTION.  177 

tJie  welding  of  old  and  new  into  one  piece,  the  close 
mingling  and  association  of  all  our  knowledge,  i.  e.,  its 
unity.  Apperception,  therefore,  has  the  same  final  ten- 
dency that  was  observed  in  the  inductive  process,  the 
unification  of  knowledge,  the  concentration  of  all  experi- 
ence by  uniting  its  parts  into  groups  and  series.  The 
smith,  in  welding  together  two  pieces  of  iron,  heats  both 
and  then  hammers  them  together  into  one  piece.  The 
teacher  has  something  similar  to  do.  He  must  revive 
old  ideas  in  the  child's  mind,  then  present  the  new  facts 
and  bring  the  two  things  together  while  they  are  still 
fresh,  so  as  to  cause  them  to  coalesce.  To  prove  this 
observe  how  long  division  may  be  best  taught.  Call  up 
and  review  the  method  of  short  division,  then  proceed  to 
work  a  problem  in  long  division  calling  attention  to  the 
similar  steps  and  processes  in  the  two,  and  finally  to  the 
difference  between  them. 

The  defect  of  much  teaching  in  children's  classes  is 
that  the  teacher  does  not  properly  provide  for  the  weld- 
ing together  of  the  new  and  old.  The  important  prac- 
tical question  after  all  is  whether  instructors  see  to  it 
that  children  recall  their  previous  knowledge.  It  is  nec- 
essary to  take  special  pains  in  this.  Nothing  is  more 
common  than  to  find  children  forgetting  the  very  thing 
which,  if  remembered,  would  explain  the  difficult  point 
in  the  lesson.  Teachers  are  often  surprised  that  children 
have  forgotten  things  once  learned.  But,  in  an  impor- 
tant sense,  we  encourage  children  to  forget  b}'^  not  calling 
into  use  their  acquisitions.  Lessons  are  learned  too 
much,  each  by  itself,  without  reference  to  what  precedes 
or  what  follows,  or  what  effect  this  lesson  of  to-day  may 
have  upon  things  learned  a  year  ago.  Putting  it  briefly, 
children  and  teachers  do  not    think   enough,    pondering 


178  GENERAL   METHOD. 

things  over  in  their  minds,  relating  facts  with  each  other, 
and  bringing  all  knowledge  into  unity,  and  into  a  clear 
comprehension.  The  habit  of  thoughtfulness,  engendered 
by  a  proper  combining  of  old  and  new,  is  one  of  the  valu- 
able results  of  a  good  education.  It  gives  the  mind  a 
disposition  to  glance  backward  or  forward,  to  judge  of 
all  old  ideas  from  a  broader,  more  intelligent  standpoint. 
Thinking  everything  over  in  the  light  of  the  best  experi- 
ence we  can  bring  to  bear  upon  it,  prevents  us  from 
jumping  at  conclusions. 

The  general  p^cwi  of  all  studies  is  based  upon  this 
notion  of  acquiring  knowledge  by  the  assistance  of  accu- 
mulated funds.  In  Arithmetic  it  would  be  folly  to  begin 
with  long  division  before  the  multiplication  table  is 
learned.  In  Geo?netry,  later  propositions  depend  upon 
eai'lier  principles  and  demonstrations.  In  Latin,  vocab- 
ularies and  inflections  and  syntactical  relations  must  be 
mastered  before  readiness  in  the  use  of  language  is 
reached.  And  so  it  is  to  a  large  degree  in  the  general 
plan  of  all  studies.  In  spite  of  this  no  principle  is  more 
commonly  violated  in  daily  recitations  than  that  of  ap- 
perception. Its  value  is  self-evident  as  a  principle  for 
the  arrangement  of  topics  in  any  branch  of  study,  but  it 
is  overlooked  in  daily  lessons.  Instead  of  this  new  knowl- 
edge is  acquired  by  a  thoughtless  memory  drill. 

In  this  welding  process  we  desire  to  deterniine  how 
far  an  actual  concentration  may  take  place  beticeen  school 
studies  and  the  home  and  outside  life  of  children.  The 
stock  of  ideas  and  feelings  which  a  child  from  its  infancy 
has  gathered  from  its  peculiar  history  and  home  sur- 
roundings is  the  primitive  basis  of  its  personality.  Its 
thought,  feeling,  and  individuality  are  deeply  interwoven 
with  home  experience.     No  other  set  of  ideas,  later  ac- 


APPERCEPTION.  179 

quired,  lies  so  close  to  its  lieart  or  is  so  abiding  in  its 
memory.  The  memory  of  work  and  play  at  home;  of  the 
house,  yard,  trees,  and  garden;  of  parents,  brothers,  and 
sisters,  and  in  addition  to  this  the  experiences  connected 
with  neighbors  and  friends,  the  town  and  surrounding 
country,  the  church  and  its  influence,  the  holidays,  games, 
and  celebrations,  all  these  things  lie  deeper  in  the  minds 
of  children  than  the  facts  learned  about  grammar,  geog. 
raphy,  or  history  in  school.  Any  plan  of  education  that 
ignores  these  home-bred  ideas,  these  events,  memories,  and 
sympathies  of  home  and  neighborhood  life,  will  make  a 
vital  mistake.  A  concentration  that  keeps  in  mind  only 
the  school  studies  and  disregards  the  rich  funds  of  ideas 
that  every  child  brings  from  his  home,  must  be  a  failure, 
because  it  only  includes  the  weaker  half  of  his  experience. 
Home  knowledge  itself  does  not  need  to  be  made  a  con- 
centrating center,  but  all  its  best  materials  must  be 
drawn  into  the  concentrating  center  of  the  school.  But 
children  bring  many  faulty,  mistaken,  and  even  vicious 
ideas  from  their  homes.  It  is  well  to  know  the  actual 
situation.  It  is  the  work  of  the  school,  at  every  step, 
while  receiving,  to  correct,  enlarge,  or  arrange  the  faulty  or 
disordered  knowledge  brought  into  the  school  by  children. 
We  unconsciously  use  these  materials,  and  depend  upon 
them  for  explaining  new  lessons,  more  constantly  than 
we  are  aware  of.  In  fact,  if  we  were  wise  teachers,  we 
would  consciously  make  a  more  frequent  use  of  them  and, 
in  order  to  render  them  more  valuable,  take  special  pains 
to  review,  correct,  and  arrange  them.  We  would  teach 
children  to  observe  moi'e  closely  and  1o  remember  better 
the  things  they  daily  see. 

We  shall  appreciate  better  the  value  of  home  knotol- 
edge  if  we  take  note  of  the  direct  and  constant  depend- 


180  GENERAL   METHOD. 

ence  of  the  most  important  studies  upon  it.      We  usually 
think  of  history  as  something  far  away  in  New  England, 
or  France,  or  Egypt.      History  is  mainly  the  study  of  the 
actions,  customs,  homes,  and   institutions  of  men  in   dif- 
ferent countries.     But  what  an  abundance  of  similar  facts 
and  observations  a  child  has  gathered  about  home  before 
he  begins  the  study  of  history.      From  his  infancy  he  has 
seen  people  of  all  sorts  and  conditions,  rich  and   poor, 
ignorant  and  learned,  honorable  and  mean.      He  has  seen 
all  sorts  of  human   actions,  learned  to  know  their  mean- 
ing and   to  pass  judgment   upon   them.        He   has  seen 
houses,  churches,  public  buildings,  trade  and   commerce, 
and  a  hundred  human  institutions.     The  child  has  been 
studying  human  actions  and  institutions  in   the  concrete 
for  a  dozen  year-s  before  he  begins  to  read  and  recite  his- 
tory from  books.      Without  the  knowledge  thus  acquired 
out  of  school,  society,  government,  and  institutions  would 
be  worse  than  Greek.     Geography  as  taught  in  the  books 
would  be  totally  foreign  and   strange  but  for  the  abund- 
ance of  ideas  the  child  has  already  picked  up  about  hills, 
streams,  roads,  travel,  storms,  trees,  animals,  and  people. 
Natural  science  lessons  must  be  based  on  a  more  care- 
ful study  of  things  already  seen  about  home — rocks  and 
streams,     flowers   and    plants,   animals  wild    and    tame. 
These  with  the  forests,  fields,  brooks,  seasons,  tools,  and 
inventions,  are   the   necessary  object  lessons   in   natural 
science  which  can  serve  daily  to  illustrate  other  lessons. 
How  near  then  do  the  natural  scieiace  topics,  geography 
and  history,  stand  to  the  daily  home  life  of  a  child  !    How 
intimate  should   be  the  relations  which  the  school  should 
establish  between  the  parts  of  a  child's  experience  !    This 
is  concentration  iu  the  broadest  sense.      A  proper  appre- 
ciation  of  this   principle  will   save  us  from  a  number  of 


APPERCEPTION.  181 

common  errors.  Besides  constantly  associating  home  and 
school  knowledge,  we  shall  try  to  know  the  home  and 
parents  better,  and  the  disposition  and  surroundings  of 
each  child.  We  shall  be  ready  at  any  time  to  render 
home  knowledge  more  clear  and  accurate,  to  correct 
faulty  observation  and  opinion.  While  the  children  will 
be  encouraged  to  illustrate  lessons  from  their  own  expe- 
rience, we  shall  fall  into  the  excellent  habit  of  explaining 
new  and  difficult  points  by  a  direct  appeal  to  what  the 
pupils  have  seen  and  understood.  In  short,  there  will  be 
a  disposition  to  draw  into  the  concentrating  work  of  the 
scjiool  all  the  deeper  but  outside  life-experiences  which 
form  so  important  an  element  in  the  character  of  every 
person,  which,  however,  teachers  so  often  overlook.  No 
other  institution  has  such  an  opportunity  or  power  to 
concentrate  knowledge  and  experience  as  the  school. 

\.  Another  valuable  educative  result  of  apperception, 
cultivated  in  this  manner,  is  a  consciousness  of  jiotoer 
which  springs  from  the  ability  to  make  a  good  use  of  our 
knowledge.  Theoftener  children  become  aware  that  they 
have  made  a  good  use  of  acquired  knowledge,  the  more 
they  are  encouraged.  They  see  the  treasure  growing  in 
their  hands  and  feel  conscious  of  their  ability  to  use  it. 
There  is  a  mental  exhilaration  like  that  coming  from 
abundant  physical  strength  and  health. 

'•Let  us  look  back  again  at  the  results  of  our  investi- 
gation. We  observed  first  what  essential  services  ap- 
perception performs  for  the  human  mind  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  new  ideas,  and  for  what  an  extraordinary  ease- 
ment and  unburdening  the  acquiring  soul  is  indebted  to 
it.  Should  apperception  once  fail,  or  were  it  not  implied 
in  the  very  nature  of  our  minds,  we  should,  in  the  re- 
ception of  sense-impressions,  daily  expend  as  much  power 


182  GENERAL  METHOD. 

as  the  child  in  its  earliest  years,  since  the  perpetually 
changing  objects  of  the  external  world  would  nearly  al- 
ways appear  strange  and  new.  We  should  gain  the 
mastery  of  external  things  more  slowly  and  painfully, 
and  arrive  much  later  at  a  certain  conclusion  of  our  ex- 
ternal experience  than  we  do  now,  and  thereby  remain 
perceptibly  behind  in  our  mental  development.  Like 
children  with  their  ABC,  we  should  be  forced  to  take 
careful  note  of  each  word,  and  not,  as  now,  allow  our- 
selves actually  to  perceive  only  a  few  words  in  each  sen- 
tence. In  a  word,  without  apperception  our  minds,  with 
strikingly  greater  and  more  exhaustive  labor,  would  at- 
tain relatively  smaller  results.  Indeed,  we  are  seldom  con- 
scious of  the  extent  to  which  our  perception  is  supported 
by  apperception;  of  how  it  releases  the  senses  from  a 
large  part  of  their  labor,  so  that  in  reality  we  listen 
usually  with  half  an  ear  or  with  a  divided  attention;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  do  we  ordinarily  reflect  that  apper- 
ception lends  the  sense  organs  a  greater  degree  of  energy, 
so  that  they  perceive  with  greater  sharpness  and  pene- 
tration than  were  otherwise  possible.  We  do  not  con- 
sider that  apperception  spares  us  the  trouble  of  examin- 
ing ever  anew  and  in  small  detail  all  the  objects  and  phe- 
nomena that  present  themselves  to  us,  so  as  to  get  their 
meaning,  or  that  it  thus  prevents  our  mental  power  from 
scattering  and  from  being  worn  out  with  wearisome, 
fruitless  detail  labors.  The  secret  of  its  extraordinary 
success  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  refers  the  new  to  the  old, 
the  strange  to  the  familiar,  the  unknown  to  the  known, 
that  which  is  not  comprehended  to  what  is  already  under- 
stood and  thus  constitutes  a  part  of  our  mental  furniture; 
that  it  transforms  the  difificult  and  unaccustoined  into  the 
accustomed  and  causes  us  to  grasp  everything  new  by 


APPERCEPTION.  183 

means  of  old-time,  well-known  ideas.  Since,  then,  it  ac- 
complishes great  and  unusual  results  by  small  means,  in 
so  far  as  it  reserves  for  the  soul  the  greatest  amount  of 
power  for  other  purposes,  it  agrees  with  the  general 
principle  of  the  least  expenditure  of  force,  or  with  that  of 
the  best  adaptability  of  means  to  ends. 

"As  in   the  reception   of  new  impressions,  so  also  in 
working  over  and  developing  the  previously  acquired  con- 
tent of  the  mind,  the  helpful  work  of  apperception  shows 
itself.     By  connecting  isolated  things  with  mental  groups 
already  formed,  and   by  assigning   to  the  new  its  proper 
place  among  them,  apperception  not  only  increases  the 
clearness  and  definiteness  of  ideas,  but  knits  them  more 
firmly  to  our  consciousness.     Appercewing  ideas  are  the 
best  aids  to  memory.      Again,  so  often  as  it  subordinates 
new  impressions  to  older  ones,  it  labors  at  the  association 
and  articulation  of  the  manifold  materials  of  perception 
and  thought.      By  condensing   the    content    of   observa- 
tion and  thinking  into  concepts  and  rules,  or  general  ex- 
periences and  principles,  or  ideals  and   general   notions, 
apperception  produces  connection  and  order  in  our  knowl- 
edge and  volition.     With   its  assistance  there  spring  up 
those  universal  thought  complexes,  which,  distributed  to 
the  various  fields  to  which  thoy  belong,  appear  as  logical, 
linguistic,  aesthetic,  moral,  and  religious  norms  or  prin- 
ciples.    If  these  acquire  a  higher  degree  of  value  for  our 
feelings,  if  we  find  ourselves  heartily  attached  to  them, 
so  that  we  prefer  them  to  all  those  things  which  are  con- 
tradictory,  if  we  bind  them   to  our  own  self,    they  will 
thus  become  powerful  mental  groups,  which  spring  up  in- 
dependent of  the  psychical  mechanism  as  often  as  kindred 
ideas  appear  in  the  mind.     In  the  presence  of  these  they 
now    pake    manifest    their    apperceiving   power.       We 


184  GENERAL   METHOD. 

measure  and  estimate  them  now  according  to  universal 
laws.  They  are,  so  to  speak,  the  eyes  and  hand  of  the 
will,  with  which,  regulating  and  supplementing,  reject- 
ing and  correcting,  it  lays  a  grasp  upon  the  content  as 
well  as  upon  the  succession  of  ideas.  They  hinder  the 
purely  mechanical  flow  of  thought  and  desire,  and  our  in- 
voluntary absorption  in  external  impressions  and  in  the 
varied  play  of  fancy.  We  learn  how  to  control  religious 
impulses  by  laws,  to  rule  thoughts  by  thoughts.  In  the 
place  of  the  mechanical,  appears  the  regulated  course 
of  thinking;  in  the  place  of  the  psychical  rule  of  caprice, 
the  monarchical  control  of  higher  laws  and  principles,  and 
the  spontaneity  of  the  ego  as  the  kernel  of  the  per 
sonality.  By  the  aid  of  apperception,  therefore,  we  are 
lifted  gradually  from  psychical  bondage  to  mental  and 
moral  freedom.  And  now  when  ideal  norms  are  apper- 
ceivingly  active  in  the  field  of  knowledge  and  thought,  of 
feeling  and  will,  when  they  give  laws  to  the  psychical 
mechanism,  true  culture  is  attained."  (Lange's  Apper- 
ception, edited  by  DeGarmo,  p.  99,  etc.) 

Note. — The  freedom  with  which  we  quote  extensively  from 
Lange  is  an  acknowledgement  of  the  importance  of  his  treatise. 
We  are  indebted  to  it  throughout  for  many  of  the  ideas  treated. 


THE  WILL.  185 


CHAPTER  VI! 


THE    WILL. 


We  have  now  completed  the  discussion  of  the  concept- 
bearing  or  inductive  process  in  learning  and  appercep- 
tion, and  find  that  they  both  tend  to  the  unifying  of 
knowledge  and  to  the  awakening  of  interest. 

It  remains  to  De  seen  how  the  will  may  be  brought 
into  activity  and  placed  in  command  of  the  resources  of 
the  mind. 

The  will  is  that  power  of  the  mind  which  chooses,  de- 
cides, and  controls  action. 

According  to  psychology  there  are  three  distinct  ac- 
tivities of  the  mind,  knotcing,  feeling,  and  willing.  These 
three  powers  are  related  to  one  another  on  a  basis  of 
equality,  and  yet  the  will  should  become  the  tnonarch  of 
the  mind.  It  is  expected  that  all  the  other  activities  of 
the  mind  will  be  brought  into  subjection  to  the  will.  For 
strong  character  resides  in  the  will.  Strength  of  char- 
acter  depends  entirely  upon  the  mastery  which  the  will 
has  acquired  over  the  life;  and  the  Jornvttion  of  char- 
acter, as  shown  in  a  strong  moral  will,  is  the  highest 
aim  of  education. 

The  great  problem  for  us  to  solve  is:  1.  How  far  can 
teaching  stimulate  and  develop  such  a  will? 

There  is  an  apparent  contradiction  in  saying  that  the 
will  is  the  monarch  of  the  mind,  the  power  which  must 
control  and  subject  all  the  other  powers;  and  yet  that  it 
can  be  trained,  educated,  moulded,  and  chiefly  too  by  a 
proper  cultivation  of  the  other  powers,  feeling  and  know- 


186  GENERAL  METHOD. 

ing.  Knowledge  and  feeling,  while  they  are  subject  to 
the  will,  still  constitute  its  strength,  just  as  the  soldiers 
and  officers  of  an  army  are  subject  to  a  commander  and 
yet  make  him  powerful. 

We  shall  first  notice  the  dependence  of  the  will  upon 
i]\&  knowing  idi,cvMY .  It  is  an  old  saying  "that  knowl- 
edge is  power."  But  it  is  power  only  as  a  strong  will  is 
able  to  convert  knowledge  into  action.  Before  the  will 
can  decide  to  do  any  given  act  it  must  see  its  way  clearly. 
It  must  at  least  believe  in  the  possibility.  In  trying  to 
get  across  a  stream,  for  example,  if  one  can  not  swim  and 
there  is  no  bridge  nor  boat  nor  means  of  making  one,  the 
will  can  not  act.  It  is  helpless.  The  will  must  be  shown 
the  way  to  its  aims  or  they  are  impossible.  The  more 
clear  and  distinct  our  knowledge,  the  better  we  can  lay 
our  plans  and  will  to  carry  them  out.  It  would  be  im- 
possible for  one  of  us  to  will  to  run  a  steam  engine  from 
Chicago  to  St.  Paul  to-day.  We  don't  know  how,  and 
we  should  not  be  permitted  to  try.  In  every  field  of 
action  we  must  have  knowledge,  and  clear  knowledge, 
before  the  will  can  act  to  good  advantage.  It  is  only 
knowledge,  or  at  least  faith  in  the  possibility  of  accom- 
plishing an  undertaking,  that  opens  the  way  to  will. 
Much  successful  exjyerience  in  any  line  of  work  brings 
increasing  confidence  and  the  will  is  greatly  strength- 
ened, because  one  knows  that  certain  actions  are  possible. 
The  simple  acquisition  of  facts  therefore,  the  increase  of 
knowledge  so  long  as  it  is  well  digested,  makes  it  pos- 
sible for  the  will  to  act  with  greater  energy  in  various 
•  directions.  The  more  clear  this  knowledge  is,  the  more 
thoroughly  it  is  cemented  together  in  its  parts  and  sub- 
ject to  control,  the  greater  and  more  effective  can  be  the 
will  action.     All  the  knowledge  we  may  acquire  can  be 


THE  WILL.  187 

used  by  the  will  in  planning  and  carrying  out  its  pur- 
poses. Knowledge,  therefore,  derived  from  all  sources, 
is  a  ineanti  used  by  the  will,  and  increases  the  possibili- 
ties of  its  action. 

But,  secondly,  there  are  found  still  more  immediate 
means  of  stimulating  and  strengthening  the  will,  namely, 
in  the  feelings.  The  feelings  are  more  closely  related  to 
will  than  knowledge,  at  least  in  the  sense  of  cause  and 
effect.  There  is  a  gradual  transition  from  the  feelings 
up  to  will,  as  follows:  interest  in  an  object,  inclination, 
desire  and  purpose,  or  will  to  secure  it.  We  might  say 
that  will  is  only  the  final  link  in  the  chain,  and  the  feel- 
ings and  desires  lead  up  to  and  produce  the  act  of  willing. 
Even  will  itself  has  been  called  a  feeling  by  some  psychol- 
ogists and  classed  with  the  feelings.  But  the  thing  in 
which  we  are  now  most  concerned  is  how  to  reach  and 
strengthen  the  will  through  the  feelings.  Some  of  the 
feelings  which  powerfully  inliuence  the  will  are  desire  of 
approbation,  ambition,  love  of  knowledge,  appreciation 
of  the  beautiful  and  the  good;  or,  on  the  other  side,  ri- 
valry, envy,  hate,  and  ill-will.  Now,  it  is  clear  that  a 
cultivation  of  the  feelings  and  emotions  is  possible  which 
may  strongly  influence  the  purposes  and  decisions  of  the 
will,  either  in  the  right  or  wrong  direction.  It  is  just  at 
this  point  that  education  is  capable  of  a  vigorous  influ- 
ence in  moulding  the  character  of  a  child.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  the  six  interests  already  mentioned  is  little  else 
than  a  cultivation  of  the  great  classes  of  feeling,  for  in. 
terest  always  contains  a  strong  element  of  feeling.  It 
is  certain  in  any  case  that  a  child's,  and  eventually  a 
man's  will,  is  to  be  guided  largely  by  his  feelings. 
Whether  any  care  is  taken  in  education  or  not,  feeling, 
good  or  bad,  is  destined  to  guide  the  will.      Most  people, 


188  GENERAL  METHOD. 

as  we  know,  are  too  much  influenced  by  their  feelings.  This 
is  apparent  in  the  adage,  "Think  twice  before  you  speak." 
Feelings  of  malice  and  ill-will,  of  revenge  and  envy,  of 
dislike  and  jealously,  get  the  control  in  many  lives,  be- 
cause they  have  been  permitted  to  grow  and  nothing 
better  has  been  put  in  their  place.  The  teacher  by  select- 
ing the  proper  inateriaU  of  study  is  able  to  cultivate  and 
strengthen  such  feelings  as  sympathy  and  kindliness  to- 
ward others;  appreciation  of  brave, unselfish  acts  in  others; 
the  feeling  of  generosity,  charity,  and  a  forgiving  spirit; 
a  love  for  honesty  and  uprightness;  a  desire  and  ambition 
for  knowledge  in  many  directions.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  teacher  may  gently  instill  a  dislike  for  cowardice, 
meanness,  selfishness,  laziness,  and  envy,  and  bring  the 
child  to  master  and  control  these  evil  dispositions.  Not 
only  is  it  possible  to  cultivate  those  feelings  which  we 
may  summarize  as  the  love  of  the  virtues  and  develop  a 
dislike  and  turning  away  from  vices,  buL.  this  work  of 
cultivating  the  feelings  may  be  carried  on  so  systematic- 
ally that  great  habits  of  feeling  are  formed,  and  these 
habits  become  the  very  strongholds  of  character.  They 
are  the  forces  acting  upon  the  will  and  guiding  its  choice. 

It  is  freedom  of  the  will  to  chose  the  best  that  we 
are  after.  We  desire  to  limit  the  choice  of  the  will  if 
possible  to  good  things.  We  desire  to  make  the  character 
so  strong  and  so  noble  and  consistent  in  its  desires  that  it 
will  not  be  strongly  tempted  by  evil.  The  will  in  the 
end,  while  it  controls  all  the  life  and  action,  is  itself 
under  the  guidance  of  those  habits  of  thought  and  feeling 
that  have  been  gradually  formed.  Sully  says,  "Thus  it 
is  feeling  that  ultimately  supplies  the  stimulus  or  force  to 
volition  and  intellect  which  guides  or  illumines  it. " 

A  study  of  the  will  in  its  relation   to  knowledge  and 


THE  WILL.  189 

feeling  reveals  that  the  training  and  development  of  the 
will  depend  upon  exercise  and  upon  instrucHo7i.  There 
are  two  ways  of  exercising  will  power.  First,  by  requiring 
it  to  obey  authority  promptly  and  to  control  the  body  and 
the  mind  at  the  direction  of  another.  The  discipline  of  a 
school  may  exert  a  strong  influence  upon  pupils  in  teach- 
ing them  concentration  and  will  power  under  the  direc- 
tion of  another.  Especially  is  this  true  in  lower  grades. 
Children  in  the  first  grade  have  but  little  power  or  habit 
of  concentrating  the  attention.  The  will  of  the  teacher, 
combined  with  her  tact,  must  aid  in  developing  the  ener- 
gies of  the  will  in  these  little  ones.  The  primary  value 
of  quick  obedience  in  school,  of  exact  discipline  in  march- 
ing, rising,  etc.,  is  twofold.  It  secures  the  necessary 
orderliness  and  it  trains  the  will.  Even  in  higher  and 
normal  schools  such  a  perfect  discipline  has  a  great  value 
in  training  to  alertness  and  .quickness  of  apprehension 
associated  with  action. 

Secondly,  by  the  training  of  the  mind  to  freedom  of 
action,  to  self -activity ,  to  independence.  As  soon  as 
children  begin  to  develop  the  power  of  thought  and  action 
their  self-activity  should  be  encouraged.  Even  in  the 
lowest  grades  the  beginnings  may  be  made.  An  ai)n 
may  be  set  before  them  which  they  are  to  reach  by  their 
own  efforts.  For  example,  let  a  class  in  the  first  reader 
be  asked  to  make  a  list  of  all  the  words  in  the  last  two 
lessons  containing  thy  or  oi,  or  some  other  combination. 
Activity  rather  than  repose  is  the  nature  of  children,  and 
even  in  the  kindergarten  this  activity  is  directed  to  the 
attainment  of  definite  ends.  With  number  work  in  the 
first  grade  the  objects  should  be  handled  by  the  children, 
the  letters  made,  rude  drawings  sketched,  so  as  to  give 
play  to  their  active  powers  as  well  as  to  lead  them  on  to 


11)0  GENERAL   METHOD. 

confidence  in  doing,  to  an  increase  of  self-activity.  As 
children  grow  older,  the  problems  set  before  them,  the 
aims  held  out,  should  be  more  difficult.  Of  course  they 
should  be  of  i7iterest  to  the  child,  so  that  it  will  have  an 
impulse  and  desire  of  its  own  to  reach  them. 

There  are  few  things  so  valuable  as  setting  up  definite 
aims  before  children  and  then  supplying  them  with  incen- 
tives to  reach  them  through  their  own  efforts.  It  has 
been  often  supposed  that  the  only  way  to  do  this  is  to 
use  reference  books,  to  study  up  the  lesson  or  some  topics 
of  it  outside  of  the  regular  order.  But  self-activity  is  by 
no  means  limited  to  such  outside  work.  A  child's  self- 
activity  may  be  often  aroused  by  the  manner  of  studying 
a  simple  lesson  from  a  text-book.  When  a  reading  or 
geography  lesson  is  so  studied  that  the  pupil  thoroughly 
sifts  the  piece,  hunts  down  the  thought  till  he  is  certain 
of  its  meaning;  when  all  the  previous  knowledge  the 
pupil  can  command  is  brought  to  bear  upon  this,  to  throw 
light  upon  it;  when  the  dictionary  and  any  other  books 
familiar  to  the  child  are  studied  for  the  sake  of  reference 
and  explanation,  self-activity  is  developed.  Whenever 
the  disposition  can  be  stimulated  to  look  at  a  fact  or 
statement  from  more  than  one  sta7idpoi)it,  to  criticise  it 
even,  to  see  how  true  it  is,  or  if  there  are  exceptions,  self- 
activity  is  cultivated. 

The  pursuit  of  definite  aims  always  calls  out  the  will 
and  their  satisfactory  attainment  strengthens  one's  con- 
fidence in  his  ability  to  succeed.  Every  step  should  be 
toward  a  clearly  seen  aim.  At  least  this  is  our  ideal  in 
working  with  children.  They  should  not  be  led  on  blindly 
from  one  point  to  another,  but  try  to  reach  definite  results. 

There  is  a  gradual  transition  in  the  course  of  a  child's 
schooling  from  training  of  the  will  under  guidance  to  its 


THE  WILL.  191 

iodepeodent  exercise.  Throughout  the  school  course 
there  must  be  much  obedience  and  will  effort  under  the 
guidance  of  one  in  authority.  But  there  should  be  a 
gradual  increase  of  self-activity  and  self-determination. 
When  the  pupil  leaves  school  he  should  be  prepared  to 
launch  out  and  pursue  his  own  aims  with  success. 

Will  effort,  however,  to  be  valuable,  must  have  its  roots 
in  those  moral  convictions  which  it  is  the  chief  aim  of  the 
school  to  foster  and  strengthen.  We  have  attempted  to 
show  in  the  pi-eceding  chapters  how  the  central  subject 
matter  of  the  school  could  be  chosen,  and  the  other  studies 
concentrated  about  it  with  a  view  to  accomplishing  this 
result.  In  concluding  our  discussion  of  general  princi- 
ples of  education,  and  in  summing  up  the  results,  basing 
our  reasoning  upon  psychology,  we  are  always  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that  education  aims  at  the  will,  and  more 
particularly  at  the  will  as  influenced  and  guided  by  moral 
ideas.  This  is  the  same  as  saying  that  we  have  completed 
the  circle  and  come  around  to  our  starting  point,  that 
tnoral  character  is  the  chief  aim  of  education. 

Teachers  who  are  interested  in  this  phase  of  pedagogy 
will  do  well  to  study  the  science  of  ethics.  Not  that  it  will 
much  aid  them  directly  in  school  work,  but  it  will  at  least 
give  them  a  more  comprehensive  and  definite  notion  of 
the  field  of  morals  and  perhaps  indicate  more  clearly 
where  the  materials  of  moral  education  are  to  be  sought, 
and  the  leading  ideas  to  be  emphasized. 

Herbart  projected  a  system  of  ethics,  based  on  psy- 
chology, with  the  intention  of  classifying  the  chief  moral 
notions  and  of  showing  their  relation  to  each  other.  He 
also  developed  a  theory  of  the  origin  of  moral  ideas  and 
their  best  means  of  cultivation,  and  then  based  his  system 
of  pedagogy  upon  it. 


192  GENERAL   METHOD. 

The  chief  classes  of  ethical  ideas  of  Herbart  are  briefly 
explained  as  follows: 

1.  Goodwill.  It  is  manifested  in  the  sympathy  we 
feel  for  the  sorrow  or  joy  of  another  person.  It  is  illus- 
trated by  the  example  of  Sidney  and  Howard  already  cited. 

2.  Legal  right.  It  serves  to  avoid  strife  by  some 
agreement  or  established  rule;  e.  g.,  the  government  of 
the  United  States  fixes  the  law  for  pre-empting  land  and 
for  homestead  claims  so  that  no  two  persons  can  lay  claim 
to  the  same  piece  of  land. 

3.  Justice,  as  expressed  by  reward  or  punishment. 
When  a  person  purposely  does  an  injury  to  another,  all 
men  unite  in  the  judgment,  "He  must  be  punished." 
Likewise,  if  a  kind  act  is  done  to  anyone,  we  insist  upon  a 
I'eturn  of  gratitude  at  least. 

4.  Perfection  of  loill.  This  implies  that  the  will  is 
strong  enough  to  resist  all  opposition.  David's  will  to 
go  out  and  meet  Goliath  was  perfect.  A  boy  desires  to 
get  his  lesson,  but  indolence  and  the  love  of  play  are  too 
strong  for  his  will.  There  is  nothing  which  goes  so  far 
to  make  up  the  character  of  the  hero  as  strength  of  will 
which  yields  to  no  difficulties. 

5.  Inner  freedom.  This  is  the  obedience  of  the  will 
to  its  highest  moral  incentive.  It  is  ability  to  set  the  will 
free  from  all  selfish  or  wrong  desires  and  to  yield  implicit 
obedience  to  moral  ideas.  This  of  course  depends  upon 
the  cultivation  of  the  other  ideas  and  their  proper  subor- 
dination, one  to  another. 

The  five  moral  ideas  just  given  indicate  the  lines  along 
which  strength  of  moral  character  is  shown.  They  are  of 
some  interest  to  the  teacher  as  a  systematic  arrange- 
ment of  morals,  but  they  are  of  no  direct  value  in  teach- 
ing. They  are  the  most  abstract  and  general  classes  of 
moral  ideas  and  are  of  no  interest  whatever  to  children. 


THE  WILL.  193 

III  morals  the  only  thing  that  interests  children  is 
moral  action.  '  Whether  it  be  in  actual  life  or  in  a  story  oi- 
history,  the  child  is  aroused  by  a  deed  of  kindness  or 
courage.  But  all  talk  of  kindness  or  goodness  in  general, 
disconnected  from  particular  persons  and  actions,  is  dry 
and  uninteresting.  This  gives  us  the  key  to  the  child'ti 
mind  in  morals.  Not  moralizing,  not  preaching,  not 
lecturing,  not  reproof,  can  ever  be  the  original  source 
of  moral  ideas  with  the  young,  but  the  actiona  of  people 
they  see,  and  of  those  about  whom  they  read  or  hear. 
Moral  judgments  and  feelings  spring  up  originally  only 
in  connection  with  human  action  in  the  concrete.  If  we 
propose  then  to  adapt  moral  teaching  to  youthful  minds, 
wc  must  make  use  of  concrete  materials,  observations  of 
people  taken  from  what  the  children  have  seen,  stories 
and  biographies  of  historical  characters.  A  story  of  a 
man's  life  is  interesting  because  it  brings  out  his  particular 
motives  and  actions.  This  is  the  field  in  which  instruc- 
tion has  its  conquests  to  mak'^  over  youthful  minds. 

We  will  gather  up  the  fruits  of  our  discussion  in  the 
preceding  chapters.  Having  fixed  the  chief  aim  in  the 
effort  to  influence  and  strengthen  moral  character,  we 
(ind  concentration  to  be  the  central  principle  ih  which  all 
others  unite.  It  is  the  focusing  of  life  and  school  expe- 
riences in  the  unity  of  the  personality.  The  worth  and 
choice  of  studies  is  determined  by  this.  Interest  unites 
knowledge,  feeling,  and  will.  The  culture  epochs  supply 
the  nucleus  of  materials  for  moral-educative  purposes. 
Apperception  assimilates  new  ideas  by  bringing  each 
into  the  bond  of  its  kindred  and  friends,  spinning  threads 
of  connection  in  every  direction.  The  inductive  process 
collects,  classifies,  and  organizes  knowledge,  everywhere 
tending  toward  unity. 


194  GENERAL  METHOD. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


HERBART   AND   HIS   DISCIPLES. 

"  Then,  only,  can  a  person  be  said  to  draw  education 
under  his  control,  when  he  has  the  wisdom  to  bring  forth 
in  the  youthful  soul  a  great  circle  or  body  of  ideas,  well 
knit  together  in  its  inmost  parts — a  body  of  ideas  which 
is  able  to  outweigh  what  is  unfavorable  in  environment 
and  to  absorb  and  combine  with  itself  the  favorable  ele- 
ments of  the  same."     (Herbart. ) 

Herbart  was  an  empirical  psychologist,  and  believed 
that  the  mind  grows  with  what  it  feeds  upon;  that  is, 
that  it  develops  its  powers  slowly  by  experience.  We 
are  dependent  not  only  upon  our  habits,  upon  the  estab- 
lished trends  of  mental  action  produced  by  exercise  and 
discipline,  but  also  upon  our  acquired  ideas,  upon  the 
thought  materials  stoi-ed  up  and  organized  in  the  mind. 
These  thought-materials  seem  to  possess  a  kind  of  vital- 
ity, an  energy,  an  attractive  or  repulsive  power.  When 
ideas  once  gain  real  sig.nificance  in  the  mind,  they  become 
active  agents.  They  are  not  the  blocks  with  which  the 
mind  builds.  They  are  a  part  of  the  mind  it.self.  They 
are  the  conscious  reaction  of  the  mind  upon  external 
things.  The  conscious  ego  itself  is  a  product  of  experi- 
ence. In  thus  referrino-  all  mental  action  and  orowth  to 
experience,  in  the  narrow  limits  he  draws  for  the  orig- 
inal powers  of  the  mind,  Herbart  stands  opposed  to  the 
older  and  to  many  more  recent  psychologists.  He  has 
been  called  the  father  of  empirical  psychology. 

Kant,  with  many  other  psychologists,  gives  greater 
prominence  to   the  original   powers  of  the  mind,  to  the 


HERHART  AND   HIS  DISCIPLES.  195 

innate  ideas,  by  means  of  which  it  receives  and  works 
over  the  crude  materials  furnished  by  the  senses.  The 
difference  between  Kant  and  Herbart  in  interpreting  the 
process  of  apperception  is  an  index  of  a  radical  difference 
in  their  pedagogical  standpoints.  "With  Kant,  appercep- 
tion is  the  assimilation  of  the  raw  materials  of  knowledge 
through  the  fundamental  categories  of  thought  (quality, 
quantity,  relation,  modality,  etc.)  Kant's  categories 
thought  are  original  properties  of  the  mind;  they  receive 
the  crude  materials  of  sense-perception  and  give  them 
form  and  meaning.  With  Herbart,  the  ideas  gained 
through  experience  are  the  apperceiving  power  in  inter- 
preting new  things.  Practically,  the  difference  between 
Kant  and  Herbart  is  important.  For  Kant  gives  con- 
trolling influence  to  innate  ideas  in  the  process  6f  acquisi- 
tion. Our  capacity  for  learning  depends  not  so  much 
upon  the  results  of  experience  and  thought  stored  in  the 
mind,  as  upon  original  powers,  unaided  and  unsupported 
by  experience.  With  Herbart,  on  the  contrary,  great 
stress  is  laid  upon  the  acquired  fund  of  empirical  knowl- 
edge as  a  means  of  increasing  one's  stores,  of  more  rap- 
idly receiving  and  assimilating  new  ideas. 

Upon  this  is  also  based  psychologically  the  whole  edu- 
cational plan  of  Herbart  and  of  his  disciples.  As  fast  as 
ideas  are  gained  they  are  used  as  means  of  further  acquisi- 
tion. The  chief  care  is  to  supply  the  mind  of  a  child 
at  any  stage  of  his  growth  with  materials  of  knowledge 
suited  to  his  previous  stores,  and  to  see  that  the  new  is 
properly,  assimilated  by  the  old  and  organized  with  it. 
This  accumulated  fund  of  ideas,  as  it  goes  on  collecting 
and  arranging  itself  in  the  mind,  is  not  only  a  favorable 
condition  but  an  active  agency  in  our  future  acquisition 
and  progress.    Moreover,  it  is  the  business  of  the  teacher 


196  GENERAL  METHOD. 

to  guide  and,  to  some  extent,  to  control  the  inflow  of  new 
ideas  and  experiences  into  the  mind  of  a  child;  to  super- 
intend the  process  of  acquiring  and  of  building  up  those 
bodies  of  thought  and  feeling  which  eventually  are  to  in- 
fluence and  guide  a  child's  voluntary  action. 

The  critics  therefore  accuse  Herbart  of  a  sort  of  archi 
tectural  design  or  even  of  a  mechanical  process  in  educa- 
tion. If  our  ability  and  character  depend  to  such  an 
extent  upon  our  acquirements,  and  if  the  teacher  is  able 
to  control  the  supply  of  ideas  to  a  child  and  to  guide  the 
process  of  arrangement,  he  can  build  up  controlling  cen- 
ters of  thought  which  may  strongly  influence  the  action 
of  the  will.  In  other  words,  he  can  construct  a  character 
^by  building  the  right  materials  into  it.  This  seems  to 
leave  small  room  for  spontaneous  development  toward 
self-activity  and  freedom. 

Herbart,  on  the  other  hand,  criticises  Kant's  idea  of  the 
transcendental  freedom  of  the  will,  on  the  ground  that, 
if  true,  it  makes  deliberate,  systematic  education  impos- 
sible. If  the  will  remains  absolutely  free  in  spite  of 
acquired  knowledge,  in  spite  of  strongly  developed  ten- 
dencies of  thought  and  feeling;  if  the  child  or  youth,  at 
any  moment,  even  in  later  years,  is  able  to  retire  into  his 
trancendental  ego  and  arrive  at  decisions  without  regard 
to  the  effect  of  previously  acquired  ideas  and  habits,  any 
well-planned,  intentional  effort  at  education  is  empty  and 
without  eft'ect. 

John  Friedrich  Herbart,  the  founder  of  this  movement 
in  education,  was  born  at  Oldenburg  in  1776,  and  died 
at  Gottingen  in  1811.  He  labored  seven  years  at  Got- 
tingen  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  as  professor, 
iind  a  similar  period  at  its  close.  But  the  longest 
period   of  his   university   teaching    was   at  Konigsberg, 


HERBART  AND  HIS  DISCIPLES.  197 

where,  for  twenty-five  years,  he  occupied  the  chair  of  phil- 
osophy made  famous  before  him  by  Kaut.  His  writings 
and  lectures  were  devoted  chiefly  to  philosophy,  psy- 
chology, and  pedagogy.  Previous  to  beginning  his 
career  as  professor  at  the  university,  he  had  spent  three 
years  as  private  tutor  to  three  boys  in  a  Swiss  family  of 
patrician  rank.  In  the  letters  and  reports  made  to  the 
father  of  these  boys,  we  have  strong  proof  of  the  practi- 
cal wisdom  and  earnestness  with  which  he  met  his  duties 
as  a  teacher.  The  deep  pedagogical  interest  thus 
developed  in  him  remained  throughout  his  life  a  quick- 
ening influence.  One  of  his  earliest  courses  of  lectures  at 
the  university  resulted  in  the  publication,  in  1806,  of  his 
AUgemeine  Piidagogik,  his  leading  work  on  education, 
and  to-day  one  of  the  classics  of  German  educational  liter- 
ature. His  vigorous  philosophical  thinking  in  psychology 
and  ethics  gave  him  the  firm  basis  for  his  pedagogical 
system.  At  Konigsberg,  so  strong  was  his  interest  in 
educational  problems  that  he  established  a  training- 
school  for  boys,  where  teachers,  chosen  by  him  and  under 
his  direction,  could  make  practical  application  of  his  de- 
cided views  on  education.  Though  small,  this  school  contin- 
ued to  furnish  proof  of  the  correctness  of  his  educational 
ideas  till  he  left  Konigsberg  in  1833.  This,  we  believe,  was 
the  first  practice-school  of  its  kind  established  in  connec- 
tion with  pedagogical  lectures  in  an}'  German  university. 
It  should  be  remembered  that,  while  Herbart  was  a 
])hilosopher  of  the  first  rank,  even  among  the  eminent 
thinkers  of  Germany  and  of  the  world,  he  attested  his 
profound  interest  in  education,  not  only  by  systematic 
lectures  and  extensive  writings  on  education,  but  by 
maintaining  for  nearly  a  (juarter  of  a  century  a  practice- 
school   at  the   university,  for   the  purpose  of  testing  and 


198  GENERAL  METHOD. 

illustrating  his  educational  convictions.  Lectures  on 
pedagogy  are  more  or  less  common-place,  and  often  nearly 
worthless.  The  lecturer  on  pedagogy  who  shuns  the 
life  of  the  school  room  is  not  half  a  man  in  his  profession. 
The  example  thus  set  by  Herbart  of  bringing  the  matur- 
est  fruit  of  philosophical  study  into  the  school  room,  and 
testing  it  day  by  day  and  month  by  month  upon  children 
has  been  followed  by  several  eminent  disciples  of  Herbart 
at  important  universities. 

Karl  Volkmar  Stoy  (1815-1885)  in  1843  began  his  ca- 
reer of  more  than  forty  years  as  professor  of  pedagogy 
and  leader  of  a  teachers'  seminary  and  practice-school  at 
Jena.  (A  part  of  this  time  was  spent  at  Heidelberg.) 
During  these  years  more  than  six  hundred  university 
students  received  a  spirited  introduction  to  the  theory 
and  practice  of  education  under  Stoy's  guidance  and  in- 
spiration. His  seminary  for  discussion  and  his  practice- 
school  became  famous  throughout  Germany  and  sent  out 
many  men  who  gained  eminence  in  educational  labors. 

Tuiskon  Ziller,  in  1862,  set  up  at  Leipzig,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  lectures  on  teaching,  a  pedagogical  semi- 
nary and  practice-school,  which,  for  twenty  years,  con- 
tinued to  develop  and  extend  the  application  of  Herbart's 
ideas.  Ziller  and  several  of  his  disciples  have  attained 
much  prominence  as  educational  writers  and  leaders. 

A  year  after  the  death  of  Stoy,  1886,  Dr.  Wilhelm 
Rein  was  called  to  the  chair  of  pedagogy  at  Jena.  He 
had  studied  both  with  Stoy  and  Ziller,  and  had  added  to 
this  an  extensive  experience  as  a  teacher  and  as  principal 
of  a  normal  school.  His  lectures  on  pedagogy,  both 
theoretical  and  practical,  in  connection  with  his  semi- 
nary for  discussion  and  his  practice-school  for  applica- 
tion of  theory,  furnish  an  admirable  introduction  to  the 
most  progressive  educational  ideas  of  Germany. 


HERBART  AND  HIS  UISCITLES.  Ht9 

The  Herbart  .school  stands  for  certain  progressive 
ideas  which,  while  not  exactly  new,  have,  however,  re" 
ceived  such  a  new  infusion  of  life-giving  blood  that  the 
vague  formulae  of  theorists  have  been  changed  into  the 
definite,  mandatory  requirements  and  suorgestions  of  real 
teachers.  The  fact  that  a  pedagogical  truth  has  been 
vaguely  or  even  clearly  stated  a  dozen  times  by  promi- 
nent writers,  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  it  has  ever 
had  any  vital  infiueuce  upon  educators.  The  history  of 
education  shows  conclusively  that  important  educational 
ideas  can  be  written  about  and  talked  about  for  centuries 
without  finding  their  way  to  any  great  extent  into  school 
rooms.  What  we  now  need  in  education  is  definite  and 
well-grounded  theories  and  plans,  backed  up  by  honest 
and  practical  execution. 

The  Herbartians  have  patiently  submitted  themselves 
to  thorough-going  tests  in  both  theory  and  practice. 
After  years  of  experiment  and  discussion,  they  come  for- 
ward with  certain  propositions  of  reform  which  are  de- 
signed to  infuse  new  life  and  meaninof  into  educational 
labors. 

The  first  proposition  is  to  make  the  foundation  of  edu- 
cation immovable  by  resting  it  upon  ijroxrtli  in  moral 
character,  as  the  purpose  which  serious  teachers  must  put 
first.  The  selection  of  studies  and  the  organization  of 
the  school  course  follow  this  guiding  principle. 

The  second  is  per/natient,  tnuinj-sided  tiiterent.  The 
life-giving  power  which  springs  from  the  awakening  of 
the  best  interests  in  the  two  great  realms  of  real  knowl- 
edge should  be  felt  by  every  teacher.  Though  not  en- 
tirely new,  this  idea  is  better  than  new,  because  its 
deeper  meaning  is  clearly  brought  out,  and  it  is  rationally 


300  GENERAL  METHOD. 

provided  for  Uy  the  selection  of  interesting  materials  and 
by  marking  out  an  appropriate  method  of  treatment.  All 
knowledge  must  be  infused  with  feelings  of  interest,  if  it 
is  to  reach  the  heart  and  work  its  influence  upon  charac- 
ter by  giving  impulse  to  the  will. 

Thirdly,  the  idea  of  organized  unity ^  or  concentration, 
in  the  mental  stores  gathered  by  children,  in  all  their 
knowledge  and  experience,  is  a  thought  of  such  vital 
meaning  in  the  effort  to  establish  unity  of  character,  that, 
when  a  teacher  once  realizes  its  import,  his  effort  is  toned 
up  to  great  undertakings. 

Fourthly,  the  culture  epochs  give  a  suggestive  bird's- 
eye  view  of  the  historical  meaning  of  education,  and  of 
the  rich  materials  of  history  and  literature  for  supplying 
suitable  mental  food  to  children.  They  help  to  realize 
the  ideas  of  interest,  concentration,  and  apperception. 

Apperception  is  the  practical  key  to  the  most  import- 
ant problems  of  education,  because  it  compels  us  to  keep 
a  sympathetic  eye  upon  the  child  in  his  moods,  mental 
states,  and  changing  phases  of  growth;  to  build  hourly 
upon  the  only  foundation  he  has,  his  previous  acquire- 
ments and  habits. 

Finally,  the  Herb&rtians  have  grappled  seriously  with 
that  great  and  comprehensive  problem  the  common  school 
course.  The  obligation  rests  upon  them  to  select  the 
materials  and  to  lay  out  a  course  of  study  which  embodies 
all  their  leading  principles  in  a  form  suited  to  children 
and  to  our  school  conditions. 

Some  of  the  principal  books  published  in  English  bear- 
in  2  on  Herbart  are  as  follows  : 

De  Garmo,  Charles.  Essentials  of  Method.  D.  C. 
Heath,  Boston. 


HKRHAKT  AND  HIS   DISCIPLES.  201 

Felkin.  The  Science  of  Education;  u  translation  of 
some  of  Herbart's  most  important  writings  on  education, 
with  a  short  biotrraphy  of  Herburt.  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.. 
Boston. 

Lange.  Ueber  Apperception,  translated  by  the  Her- 
bart  Club  and  edited  by  Dr.  De  Oarmo.  D.  C.  Heath  Sc 
Co.,  Boston. 

Lindner's  Psychology,  translated  by  Dr.  De  Garmn. 
D.  r.  Heath  &  Co..  Boston. 

Smith,  Miss  M,  K.  Herbart's  Psychology,  transjatt'il. 
International  Ed.  series.      Appleton. 

Van  Liew.  Outlines  of  Pedagogics,  by  Rein  and  \'an 
T.,iew.      r.  W.  Bardeen,   Syracuse.  N.  Y. 

The  latter  book  contains  a  full  bibliography  of  the 
German  works  of  the  Herbart  school  as  well  as  of  tiiose 
thus  far  published  in  English. 


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